Where Angels Fear to Tread
by Rukia-Chappi-Chan
Summary: It's because she wasn't raised normally, that she never believed in those fairytales where Prince Charming always came to save the day. But when a certain man turns her life upsidedown, she's forced to face Reality head on in a different perspective.
1. You're Different

I'm so sorry guys, I've been really lazy and there's no excuse, but right now, I'm taking a pause on **A Flaw in the Glass** and **Hollow**, and I've started on this new fic instead. And I'm also sorry for deleting my story **Meet First Son and Snow Child**, I'm planning to continue that when I've finished all my other stories. Sorry! I know, there's no excuse, I'm just really irresponsible.

Now, on another note, I'm typing this story to try and preach out to those poor children and people out there that have to be forced into these conditions like this, and I don't mean to offend anyone in ANY WAY at ALL. I'm really sorry if it DOES offend someone, but I AM trying not to. This story contains NO LEMONS OR LIME OR CITRUS OR WHATEVER SOUR FRUIT THERE IS OUT THERE. Though it does hold strong, mature themes, that's it. NO LEMON

Thank you, and enjoy the story :)

* * *

**Rukia-**

The cold, crisp air of autumn began to bite away at her skin, gnawing at her soft, revealed flesh and whipping at her face. Her cold, white puffs of air that left her mouth clouded around her, the thin scarf at her neck doing nothing much to warm her corset-covered body. Or rather, her barely _covered_ body. She wrapped her coat tighter around her frame and stood by the street lamp that illuminated around 3 metres away into the dark street.

The winds began to pick up and she shivered in her leather, laced boots and her brown, leather-laced corset. Damn the bastard who was meant to pick her up 1 hour ago.

"Fuck him, he can fuck himself tonight if he doesn't come," came the harsh mutter of Rukia. She shifted weight between her feet in a small attempt to keep warm. The nicely lit neighbourhood was apparently called Karakura _Town,_ not Karakura Slums, the place she was used to. It was rather nice and calm at 3 in the morning, whereas in her side of Karakura, you could hear whores moaning on the street and gunshots at a distance. The houses weren't dilapidated and moldy, and were painted nicely, the alleyways nowhere near dirty or filthy with used condoms littering the streets.

Rukia kicked at a rock or two on the curb she was standing on and glanced left or right for any sign of a car. She swore in relief when she finally saw a black Mercedes stop right in front of her with tinted windows. She was about to smile the fake smile that never reached her eyes and open the car door until she realized the window was rolling down, preventing her from bending all the way to open the expensive car. The back seat held an old granny that was giving her the dirtiest look she had ever seen on a grandma. Bending at that angle, the old woman could probably see her boobs, but Rukia could care less.

She didn't have a choice in what she did in her life anyway.

* * *

Dressed in a guy's spare button up blue striped shirt and black pants that looked like they were 5 sizes too big for her, she walked into public with an innocent smile on her face, prepared to take a 4 hour long walk in thongs and a bag with her 'previous night's clothes' inside. Rukia strode down the streets of Karakura _Town_ and smiled proudly. She had today off, and she was able to spend it in the best part of Karakura ever. The streets were clean, people were happy, and no one tried to grab her every 5 seconds.

Her innocent looking satchel bag that swung at her side bounced at every step she took, the contents on the inside worth a million glares and dirties sent her way, should it be opened. She was glad no one cared what she was doing for once. Last night was the same as always. A drunken lame ass trying to hit on her at every moment and giving her the worst night of sex she had ever had. Actually, there were worse in her history, but she preferred not to ponder on those.

She stopped and stared at the window of a shop that modeled clothing that actually covered past mid-thigh. Rukia's interest perked up as she studied this fashion. She smiled and leaned back up from staring at the glass and continued to window shop. The shops here were really different too. It was rare for Rukia to come to this town at all. With her job keeping her up all night, and her life being so miserable, she couldn't find the time at all. But last night kept her up, and she couldn't sleep, so she took the opportunity to explore. Who knew there was a bastard in this town anyway?

She continued to hum to herself a tune she had found in her memories and walked along, smiling at people who stared back and laughing gently at the small, amazing trinkets she saw. She began to unconsciously finger the locket at her neck and her smile dropped, her eyes becoming cloudy with a memory from so long ago. She straightened up and began to rummage through her bag carefully, so not to reveal the contents inside. She grabbed her mobile that was old and second handed (or used a thousand times), and began to type in the number she remembered off by heart.

The ringing alerted her that her best friend wasn't busy, and she cupped her mouth in an attempt to cover the sobs that began to shake from her mouth. Her eyes began to water and many people threw her sympathetic looks. Her whole body shook and her heart began to fall at each dial tone she heard. Her heart was raised when a voice on the other side picked up.

"Hello?"

"Renji?" Rukia gasped through the phone. He began to panic.

"Rukia?! What's wrong?! What's the matter?!"

"Just come… pick me up, ok? Please come…" she sobbed. "K-Karakura Town… in front of the shopping district… Renji?"

"Yea?" came the hurried voice of her best friend, the shuffling of walking heard in the background, along with the slamming of the car door.

"Please hurry."

* * *

_I had a family once. We used to be a happy family. _

…

_I had a family once. We used to live in Karakura Town._

…

_I had a family once. We loved each other so much._

…

_I had a family __**once**__._

…

_That__** once**__ was long ago. _

Rukia opened her eyes and found herself back at the rundown apartment she lived in. She slept on her side, her trembling hands clutching the white fabric beneath her. The cracks in her ceiling and walls ran from one side to the other. Some time during the night, her locket had opened. She shut it with a resentful clack and closed her eyes tightly.

"_Rukia, we love you so dearly."_

Lies.

"_Rukia, we treasure you from the bottom of our hearts."_

All Lies.

"_Rukia, never forget us, okay?"_

Who gave you the right to forget _me_?!

"_Rukia, we love you."_

**Liar.**

She sat up from her tossed up sheets and checked the time on her alarm clock, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

2 pm.

Not much time was wasted. Rukia stood up and stripped down to nothing, stepping into the bathroom right next to her room. She observed her heavily bruised back in the cracked mirror and frowned. She sighed and turned on the tap to the shower, the hot spray running over her and stinging all over. But she didn't care.

The physical pain was nothing compared to what she was through.

Once the hot water began to run out, she turned the tap off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her being and wrapping her hair in a hand towel like a spiral on her head. She walked out of the bathroom and dropped both towels. She slipped on her underwear and a large t-shirt that covered up to the middle of her thighs. She smiled when she realized Renji fell asleep on her couch, his arms crossed and his head bent and his face creased into a frown. He must've been worried.

Rukia tiptoed past him and into the shabby, cracked kitchen to see what was in the fridge. She opened it and a small jab of pain entered her chest when she realized she would have to go foodless again today. She didn't get paid until tomorrow, which was a Sunday. She closed the fridge with empty spirits and looked at Renji.

"Sorry buddy," she murmured to herself. "I can't give you any food this time either." He began to stir from the couch and yawned, rubbing his eyes afterwards. He looked left and right and turned around to see Rukia leaning against the doorframe with a smirk. He replied with one of his own and stood up, stretching.

"So, eaten breakfast or lunch yet?" he asked, twisting his back left and right.

"Yea," Rukia lied through her teeth easily. He stopped stretching and sent a glare her way.

"Don't lie to me," he deadpanned.

"How do you know I'm lying?" she countered back. He walked up to her and stared down, her head barely reaching his neck.

"I checked your fridge."

Silence whispered in the small gap between the two and begged to be broken. Rukia huffed and crossed her arms, looking away with a pissed face on.

"So… where do you want to go for lunch?" he asked with a smile on his face, twirling his car keys with his finger. Rukia snapped at him with her arms still crossed.

"No where. You are _not_ taking me out to eat again!"

* * *

"I'll take a beef hamburger please," Rukia told the expecting waiter. He raised his head from the small notepad in his hands and looked at the two.

"Anything else?" he said greedily. Renji shook his head and waved him off, turning to Rukia. The short, fat and greasy man scuttled away and Rukia avoided looking at Renji's eyes.

"So… how's work for you?" Rukia chuckled nervously. He, at least, lived in the better part of the slums. The part where drunkards and poor bastards lived. Where Rukia lived, was worse than them by a thousand times.

"Meh, it's keeping me alive," he shrugged, looking at Rukia directly.

"And me," she muttered bitterly. He sighed in exasperation.

"Don't start this again."

"I told you, I don't need your help!" she scolded.

"Come on Rukia, if you were me, you'd do the exact same! Look out for me!"

"Well I'm a fucking whore, no one cares about how I feel, so why should you?!"

"Because I do! Because we've been friends since the age of 10! Because we look OUT FOR EACH OTHER!"

"THERE'S NO POINT TO LOOKING AFTER ME, I'M JUST A SLUT ANYWAY!" she screamed back. Renji slapped her and she remained silent.

"Don't you dare start this again, Ichimaru Rukia."

Rukia bit the inside of her cheek and closed her eyes tightly to stop the tears from flowing, nursing her red and stinging cheek.

Born in the slums, and then raised in the slums. Wasn't that what people said?

Try born as the rich, then dumped for the poor. That sounded much better to the ears of Ichimaru Rukia. Abandoned at the age of 5, and adopted at the age of 6, Rukia could only remember her life in the slums. She was abandoned from her old family called who knows what, and was found in the streets by Ichimaru Gin one year later. She was so grateful for the man who seemed fox like and happy all the time, but he was the turn in her life that she had taken for the worst.

She remembered so clearly, the one night where everything came crashing down. She was following Ichimaru Gin around the house, when finally, she was brave enough to voice out her thoughts.

"_Ichimaru-sama… Since you have adopted me, what am I to you? A daughter? A niece? A sister?" _

It was at that moment, Gin's smile had no longer been happy and cheerful. It was at that moment, his smile had become sinister, and his eyes had opened a slit.

"_You can be the little doggy of the family, ok?"_

"_Ok!"_

She had thought back then, that this was merely a game.

She never realized she had lost ever since she had begun.

* * *

She remained silent in the shadows, wearing a flimsy pink dress that barely hung on by two thin straps, and flared out from the waist, swirling around to reveal her underwear much too often. She watched quietly as her two bosses handed out the drugs to the customers and watched the money exchange. She watched in envy as the large stacks of money were just passed into Aizen and Ichimaru's hands. Oh how she longed for that money. But all her money was passed on to Ichimaru, he only paid her 25 a week.

She earned around a 100, or 500 a night with any man that wanted her, and yet, she only received 25. One of the sleazy customers spotted her in the corner and grinned toothily.

"How much for the girl?" he slurred out. The white haired drug dealer smiled even wider and began to wring his hands together.

"350 for a night."

"300."

"325."

"Deal."

Rukia held in a witty comment. She hated being auctioned off like that. She took a deep breath and put on the most seductive face she could muster.

"I'm yours for the night, but don't be too harsh on me," she whispered in his ear. The fat man's eyes glittered with delight and he immediately grabbed her ass and started grinding up against her. She held in a kick to his groin and smiled a grimace Aizen Sousuke and Ichimaru Gin could clearly see. She walked off with the fat man and glanced in the alleyway one last time, and glared when she saw Ichimaru waving happily.

"Bye bye!"

This was just another one of those nights.

So again, why should she care?

She didn't have a choice in what she did in her life anyway.

* * *

**Ichigo-**

Coffee…

Had never tasted so shit in his life.

Ichigo grimaced and spat his coffee back into his cup without anyone else knowing and chucked the cup away. God, night shifts sucked. He walked at a brisk pace and nodded his head in return for the greetings sent his way. He shoved his hand in his pocket past his white coat and scowled when no one was looking. He paused in his steps when he heard a thundering noise that rivaled the weight of a hippo. He held his arm out and successfully choked a 24-year-old Asano Keigo. He choked and sputtered as he fell slowly. Ichigo looked down with a raised brow and a smirk.

"Morning to you too, Keigo."

"M-mornin'…" the man on the floor rasped. Ichigo walked off at a faster pace to be able to get to his car before any of his colleagues could-

"Oi, Ichigo! We're heading down to the Kyouka Suigetsu! Wanna come?"

Ask that.

Ichigo drew in a deep breath and turned around to face Mizuiro with a grimace that tried to convert into a smile.

"No, I rather wouldn't go down to the Karakura _shitty_ slums just to hang out with some skanks and have one night stands-" his mouth dropped and his eyes widened, his finger pointing at the two men next to Mizuiro.

"I-I-I-I-I-Ishida?!?!?!? Chad!?!!?!?!?" Ichigo bellowed. The two of them sported red cheeks and looked away from Ichigo. Mizuiro smiled cheekily.

"See, even these two have the balls to come. And you don't? That's such a disappointment," Mizuiro said lightly. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched occasionally. _I will not give in to his reverse psychology. That shit doesn't work on me, that shit doesn't-_

Ishida began to speak, breaking his mantra.

"Honestly, you'd think that Kurosaki was _man_ enough to handle it, but it looks like he can't even stand to look at a woman. There is the possibility to consider that he is gay-"

"I'M GOING!"

* * *

Oh why oh why was Kurosaki Ichigo so stupid?

He grumbled to himself in front of the long, body length mirror as he tightened his black belt over his long, baggy jeans and fixed the collar to his dark red button up shirt that was rolled up at the elbows. He checked the clock in the corner of his neatly decorated room and sighed. Living in this expensive apartment had its ups and downs. It was easy to go down, sliding on the banisters was fun. It was hard to go up, steps were NOT fun. It was then after 6 years of living and half of that time spent searching, he realized there was an elevator to this damn building. And by then, he was too used to the stairs.

When his doorbell rang and he heard the noisy yelling and banging of Keigo, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.

He opened it and glared down at the fallen Keigo that was on his chest right now. Apparently, from the sounds Ichigo could hear, he was trying to be a battering ram. Chad would've made a much better job.

"Hey Ichigo," came the muffled voice of Keigo. He raised a hand in salute slowly. Ichigo stepped backwards and watched the man fall forward, face first in content. Ichigo stepped over the body with the bleeding nose and began to close his apartment door.

"Let's go."

"ICHIGO!!!!" the man wailed.

* * *

The three men beside Mizuiro and Keigo had gone far past the shade of tomato red. While Keigo was wasted, Mizuiro was flirting, and Chad, Uryuu and Ichigo were horrified, 4 strippers danced in front of them with poles, scantily clad in bikinis and panties. Ichigo mustered up as much courage as he could and held a fierce glare for the girls to turn away from him. They all giggled at the bright red hue he had on his face and dragged the other four men off. Ichigo sighed in relief and laughed at Uryuu's face. Chad began to run for the door and Keigo was happy to be laid tonight. And Mizuiro was still using his womanly charms.

Typical.

Ichigo looked down at his half drunk martini and began to down the rest of it.

God, what was he doing in a hellhole like this?

He beckoned for the maid-dressed waiter with the huge boobs to come over.

"Yes, how may I help you?" the woman said cheerfully, bouncing her boobs on purpose. Ichigo wrinkled his nose in disgust tried his best not to throw up the contents of his not so healthy dinner.

"I'd like a cocktail please," he said bluntly. The waitress nodded and walked over to the bar with her 5-inch high heels. Ichigo leaned out of his seat and watched in horror, the tall shoes that would eventually be her death.

"Were you just staring at her ass?

Ichigo looked up from his position leaning across the couch and stared at a red head guy that was raising a brow at him. Ichigo blushed furiously and the bartender immediately knew this was his first time.

"N-no!" Ichigo backfired. "I-It's just… I… Women…" he trailed off. The bartender sat down beside him in his black vest and bow tie glory, facing Ichigo to show he was listening. "How do women walk in those ankle-breakers?!" Ichigo blurted out. The man next to him chuckled.

"You wouldn't believe the things they would be able to do with those shoes…"

Ichigo laughed nervously and began to sip at his cocktail that arrived in the midst of their talking. Renji raised his hand to one of the passing bartenders.

"Oi, Hisagi, grab me a gin and tonic, would ya?"

"Get up you lazy fucktard and get it yourself Abarai," the man bit back in a joking manner. The red head next to Ichigo laughed and stood up, turning around to face the newbie again.

"So I didn't quite catch your name, newbie."

"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo introduced, reaching across to shake hands with the standing man. The man flashed a grin at him, his tribal tattoos that were hidden by a bandana on his head flicking upward.

"Abarai Renji at your service. If you need anything, just call, okay?" Ichigo nodded and smiled at the man one last time before turning back to his drink. He looked around himself and remembered his current whereabouts, looking back down.

God, what was he doing in a hellhole like this?

* * *

**You're Different –**

"Well… I have good news and bad news…" the sly voice of Ichimaru began. He sat in a large, leather business chair with his hands intertwined and his sly grin hiding behind those hands that were propped on the table by his elbows. Rukia sat across him in a brown, leather chair and swallowed deeply.

"What's the bad news?" she said stoically, trying her best to keep up her wall of ice. Ichimaru spread out some papers in front of him on the desk and observed them one last time with his eyes that were somehow not open.

"Well, ya have no customers tonight," he began, skimming through the timetable for that week. Rukia's heart skipped a beat.

_YES!_

"Which means no payment for ya," Ichimaru continued, smiling brightly at her.

_NO!_

"Wait, what's the good news?" Rukia panicked.

"Well, the good news is that ya have free time today!" he said happily.

_Bastard._

"But, Ichimaru-sama, I need the money for rent and food," Rukia began. Ichimaru started to ponder this and looked thoughtful about it.

"Ok then, if ya're that desperate."

* * *

She had stumbled in with a crash, and landed on the cold, black tile floor. Some people that knew her from working in the bar stared in shock, about to go to help her until they noticed a fine man dressed in a beige coat, black dress pants and black polished shoes walk towards her.

No one messed with Ichimaru Gin _or_ Aizen Sousuke.

"Since ya have none tonight, pick a guy up today here. There are a lotta drunks, so knock ya self out, ok? Or rather, knock someone else up too, ne, Rukia-chan?" He smiled down at her one last time and walked out. The disco lights that shone brightly around Rukia allowed her to recognize her whereabouts.

_Kyouka Suigetsu…_ Rukia thought in detest. She stood up and wobbled over to the bar place, and got bombarded with questions concerning her health. She waved them all off and ordered a cocktail. She sighed and began to scan the room for any free men.

_Well I'm here, might as well make money while I'm at it. Glad I took my birth control pills before too._

She almost smirked in success and stumbled over to a man sitting alone in a red, cushion couch booth. He was cute anyway. She pretended to be drunk and fell down into his lap, her stomach on his legs. He stiffened immediately at the scantily clad woman on his lap. She looked up with the most largest, beautiful doe-like eyes he had ever seen, the greatest shade of a sapphire amethyst.

"Hi there, sorry, I kinda fell," she mumbled shyly, something she had rehearsed so many times. The man beneath her stumbled his words.

"U-uh, it's ok…" he muttered under his breath, almost silently. The girl on his lap giggled and sat up, her legs straddling each side of him, her lithe body pressing against his hard one.

"So, are you here for a fun night?" she whispered seductively in his ear, her arms wrapped around his neck and her breath fanning his face. Ichigo leaned back uncomfortably and raised his hands in surrender.

"Um… U-uh, I, uh, no, I uh, um… no!" he stuttered, his face bright red. Rukia sighed in relief and rolled off of him, onto the booth.

"Thank god, I'm not in the mood for sex right now," the woman breathed out. She raised a hand and ordered two cocktails. She passed one to the man beside her and began to down her own drink. Ichigo raised a brow.

"Um… Excuse me…" he began. The woman next to him raised a brow in return and turned to him.

"Yea, what's up?"

"Um… You don't know who I am, and you want to knock me up?" he asked with a slight tinge of pink on his cheek. Rukia chuckled bitterly and returned to her drink, throwing her head back to have it all down in one gulp. She looked back at him with an expectant look.

"You're in a strip club, every single guy in here get laid for the whole night. To be honest, I think you're the first person that hasn't been laid in this club," she explained, turning back to her drink and nibbling on the edge of the glass.

"Well, uh, thank you?" he mumbled, unsure of what to say in return to the compliment.

"Which must mean you're stupid," she deadpanned, turning back to face him. He raised a brow and slowly turned his body so that he faced her properly.

"Excuse me?" he asked in disbelief. Her elbows were propped forward on the table, one of the hands delicately holding her glass.

"I mean, come on, you're still a virgin, aren't you?" she mocked. He began to stutter again and turn red.

"I, well, I, um, no!"

The girl beside him smirked and raised a brow. He took note that they were both raising brows a lot. Was this a challenge?

"Ok then, who was your first time with?" she purred.

"Uh, um… Arisawa Tatsuki!" he said triumphantly. Well no, he never got near her or her bed, heck, she made double sure he didn't like her! But a little lie wouldn't hurt. Especially when he was talking to a prostitute.

Wait…

Prostitute??

He was talking with a prostitute so casually??

"Well, your posture tells me you're fidgety, your eyes are unsure, and you're sweating and trembling at the same time. Those signs tell me that honey, you're lying," she said with a smirk, sipping at her newly refilled drink.

_Damn_, Ichigo thought furiously.

"Well screw you!" he shouted in defeat. He immediately regretted his words when her light and playful mood became dark, and her smirk became a bitter smile.

"That's my job, I might as well get screwed tonight…" she laughed bitterly. She stood up, prepared to leave until the man she had just met until his hand shot out and grabber her wrist. Her head snapped back at him in surprise, her eyes wide. He had a slight pink in his cheeks, his face determined.

"Wait…don't go."

For a single moment, in that time span, the thumping music in the background was lowered, and it was only the two of them, holding hands, their eyes locked on each other. Then, when Rukia realized what he had just said, reality came crashing back down, and the thumping music resumed its toll on vibrating their bodies with its hard bass. The next moment he realized what he was doing and looked up at her face to see her reaction.

Her eyes glittered in the dancing spotlights, her smile kind. Her soft, gentle hands intertwined with his fingers and he blushed again like a little schoolboy. His grip on her hand tightened. He opened his mouth to talk, but was stopped by a neatly manicured French tip finger. She leaned down close to his face.

"Your place?" she questioned, her breath fanning out on his face once again.

All he could do at that moment was nod.

* * *

"Ohhh, this feels so good!" Rukia moaned. Ichigo just nodded. He lost his voice ages ago. She stretched herself on the couch and laughed with the happy and comforting feeling that came with the homey house. Ichigo chucked his keys onto the side table near his door and turned the lights on. He threw his coat onto the couch and headed into the kitchen to sit down and think. He grabbed a notepad and pen and began to tap the end of it repeatedly on the notes.

He was a healthy, young 24-year-old man that had a prostitute at his house right now. So what the hell was she doing there again?

He sighed in aggravation and clutched his head in his hands. He nearly screamed in surprise when he felt gentle, cool hands come upon his shoulders and rub them gently.

"Something wrong?" came the cool, and collected voice of the prostitute he was thinking about. She began to massage his shoulders and he closed his eyes in pleasure. He groaned in relief and smiled unconsciously when she stopped.

"Thanks, I needed that," he said quietly. He rolled his shoulders and opened his eyes, only to scream and fall backwards. Her face was a centimetre away from his, scaring the shit out of him. She laughed gently and smiled down at the man on the tiles. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He never took notice of what she was wearing, but now that he did, she was wearing a black, denim miniskirt, and a tight white tank top. She wore a black cardigan over it that stopped at her ribcage, and she had forgotten to take her knee high boots off, the chains on them glittering in the light.

She was bent over, and it appeared to Ichigo, she liked black underwear, and she was looking for food in his fridge.

"Um… What are you doing?" Ichigo questioned, his voice slightly accusing. She turned around and held the cutest expression he had ever seen on her. In her mouth was a packet of chips she must've grabbed from the pantry and in one arm, she held snacks and fruits. Her other hand reached for a soda can. She waved him off and stood up, shutting the door to the fridge.

"Oh don't worry, eating too much won't affect my performance in bed," she said light-heartedly.

"W-what?! I never said anything about having sex! I was just wondering why you're pillaging my kitchen!!" he yelled with a bright red blush, standing up. Rukia looked at him with a sly smile.

"Oh? You're still gonna have to pay me tonight then, even if there's no sex. I didn't come here for nothing."

"HUH?!"

* * *

"Hey…" came a light voice, prodding at a half dead body that was sprawled on the couch. Not to mention that the owner of the prodding was half dead herself.

She received a grunt in reply.

"We're so totally wasted…" she hiccupped. The dead body merely nodded. After Rukia's little snack attack, they began to empty out the contents of his beer cans and wine glasses. He opened an eye and looked at her from his end of the couch.

"So?" he groaned. She giggled and sat up from her end of the couch, crawling over his body and laying her head on his chest, his beating heart lulling her to sleep. She wrapped her arms around his torso, and was prepared to go to sleep until her eyes widened immediately, her body stiffening. His hand was beginning to stroke her thigh. She looked at his face and saw the drunken lust evident in his eyes. He smirked and leaned closer to her neck, nibbling at her most sensitive places.

"Show me what you got," he murmured.

That was all it took for them to stumble over to the bedroom and shut the door with a click.


	2. Don't Even Try

Gin watched from the doorframe with crossed arms in amusement at the huddled figure that currently leaned over the toilet bowl. The contents of her feeble breakfast and lunch tossed itself into the watery depths of the toilet and began to stink up the room. After remaining calm and hunched over the bowl for a few more minutes, just to make sure, Rukia sat up and wiped off the drool left on her lips.

Gin rolled his now open eyes and walked away, saying quite casually:

"I didn't beat ya that hard. Ya've taken beatings like those before." Rukia stood over the bathroom sink and grabbed the edges of it tightly, her eyes shut just as hard. Oh how she wanted to run away so badly, but she had no money for it. She could live with Renji, but that would give him trouble. She could run away, but she would probably just end up in another part of Japan's slums.

She wobbled over to the towel rack and wiped her face dry, stumbling back out the door again. She was in Gin's mansion again, and he had just beaten her for not performing her job properly. After the night of mind-blowing sex she had with the orange haired _virgin,_ she had forgotten to take her pay.

At least she enjoyed the night.

She smiled at the thought and pressed two fingers to her lips, gently feeling the warmth he had left there when he kissed her tenderly. Not a single one of her bruises or scars had hurt that night, because he was so gentle. Who knew that men like him still existed? After feeling a liquid substance on her lips, Rukia brought her fingers down to look at them.

Blood. Again.

Did Ichimaru not know how to stop beating a girl when the line was already crossed?

Rukia sighed and rubbed the traces of blood away, walking out of the neatly refurbished bathroom. Unlike Rukia, Ichimaru and Aizen lived in Karakura _Town_, in a very rich part too. She walked out of the mansion quietly and closed the door behind her with a small click. Once again left with her thoughts in the early morning light of Karakura _Town_, she drifted off back to the man last night. That must've been her best night yet. And yet again, she just had to be stupid and not ask for his name.

She sighed in agitation and continued to walk in her skimpy black and white dress that barely reached mid-thigh. She now began to receive dirties from people walking past her. She almost smiled in relief. This was what she was used to. Not the happy, clean town that would smile at her.

No.

That wasn't who Ichimaru Rukia was.

Rukia brought out her small schedule book that had Chappy decorated all over it and opened it up to today's date.

"Hn… that day already?" she murmured to herself. She began to roam the streets for a local clinic.

* * *

"Oh, there's a clinic straight ahead, down this street! It's a home clinic that the Kurosaki family owns," a kind woman directed for her. She had kind, brown eyes and hair hidden under a hat. Rukia smiled in relief and fixed her black and white beret on her head.

"Thank you so much!" The two both exchanged goodbyes and turned the other way. Rukia was glad she was a kind woman that didn't look down upon her this time. Rukia was fed up in not asking for directions so she decided to ask some people that didn't give her a dirty. She continued to walk down the road and smiled when she found a blue neon light that said Kurosaki Clinic. She entered the glass doors with the silver handles and looked at the cash register to see if they would yet again glare.

The cash register person appeared to be busy, so Rukia just strolled in and began to look for the section she required. She bent down and began to inspect which packet she should get. She grabbed 1 box and grabbed another few boxes of protection for her late night jobs. She walked over to the cash register counter and cleared her throat gently.

A young woman around her age looked up and smiled brightly.

"Hi! How may I help you?" she said cheerfully. She looked to be around a year or so younger than Rukia herself. Rukia, past all her embarrassment and shame, had laid her items on the table. The girl at the counter had long, sandy coloured hair that was tied in two plaits. She scanned the items while humming.

"A pregnancy test… Condoms… Birth Control Pills…" she began. She paused in her scanning and looked up at the woman she was treating. Yuzu raised a brow. She looked no older than herself! Yuzu cleared her throat. "Ah, excuse me… are you…?" she began. The woman with the black hair looked up, shocking Yuzu with her beauty. "Are you… going on a honeymoon with all these items?"

The woman across her burst out laughing.

"Ahah! I wish…" she said quietly afterwards. Yuzu raised a brow but continued to punch in the numbers to the register anyway.

"Ok, that totals to around 940 yen," she said happily. Rukia nodded and began to take the bills out of her wallet to give to the sweet girl. It was good that she wasn't judging her just by looking at her contents.

"Oi, Yuzu!" a voice from upstairs called. The sandy haired girl called Yuzu called back.

"Yea, Nii-chan?" Rukia looked up from stuffing her products in her bag. Rukia bowed her head and left. The girl named Yuzu quickly bowed back. Before Rukia could actually take a glance at who was coming down the stairs, she had left the shop.

Ichigo walked down the stairs as soon as a customer left, and redirected his attention towards Yuzu.

"We ran outta milk and bread, want me to go down to the convenience store to get some?" he proposed, dressed in a button up, navy shirt with a black wife beater underneath, baggy, beige pants finishing the look with white sneakers. Yuzu nodded and looked out the door where the previous customer had just left.

_I knew her from somewhere…_ she thought with her brows creased. She raised her head to the picture where her father was young, and had his arms around his two comrade's shoulders. One had glasses and white hair where the other high school boy had shoulder length black hair.

* * *

"That's 1,950 yen thank you!" the male chirped happily. Ichigo handed the man the cash and turned to walk out the entrance until a shout was heard.

"Hey! You come back here!" a voice shouted in panic. Ichigo had no time to think when a lithe, small figure had run past him, most likely stealing the food that was in her arms. Ichigo began to take chase and sped up, catching up to the girl easily. He grabbed her wrist, and the two of them came to an abrupt stop.

"Hey, you shouldn't steal like that, it's against the-" he stopped in his lecture and allowed his eyes to widen and his heart to race faster in shock when indeed the girl that was held in his firm grip was the girl he lost his virginity to. She held a fierce glare and yanked her hand out of his grip, dashing through the streets once again, and out of sight. He stilled and remained rooted to the spot as he watched the girl go.

He lost her, again.

True, after he had become wasted, he had no idea what he was doing to her body, and was doing everything that night off instinct, but he _did_ want to get a chance to get to know her, not just a simple one night stand. So, he was disappointed when he raised an arm and cuddled around nothing beside him, one side of his bed cold. He rubbed a hand down his face and continued to maintain his daily routine instead of just hanging over her. She was a prostitute, what could he do? She didn't have the time to live a social life, Ichigo concluded.

But after finding her again, it raised his hopes up. That maybe, one day he could find her. One day, he could just talk with her over a cup of coffee. The question was if that would actually happen one day, seeing as she was a thief too. Ichigo shook his head and continued his lonely walk home, pondering on his own thoughts.

If she was a prostitute, didn't she earn thousands a night? So why would she steal? Just to keep up her bad girl reputation? Some part of Ichigo wanted him to believe that, but another part of him begged to look at it in a different perspective. He shrugged it off.

Who cared anyway? He barely knew the girl.

* * *

"Oh fuck, that was close," Rukia hissed, panting with her hands on her knees. She had run all the way from Karakura Town to the Karakura Slums. Her heart had begun to hurt badly at her unhealthy condition, and she swallowed another gulp or two of air. Standing up from her feeble condition, she turned around and began to knock on the door that belonged to Renji. It slowly creaked open, revealing an expectant Renji with his elbow on the doorframe, his other hand in his pocket.

"…"

"…"

"Get in, Ichimaru Rukia."

"Yes sir."

Rukia obediently walked into the run down apartment and ignored the heavy sigh that followed her. Renji sat on his couch and covered his face with his hands, leaning against his knees. He rubbed the aging lines out of his face and turned to Rukia who had currently perched herself on his kitchen counter. He raised a brow and stared, waiting for an explanation of why she was so tired, and why she had so much more food than she could afford.

"Rukia… Where'd you get that food?" he asked bluntly. Her head was hanging low.

"From Karakura Supermarket…"

"In the Town or Slums?"

"…"

"Answer me Ichimaru."

"Town…"

"Now, how did you get this food again?"

"…"

"Rukia!"

"I ran ok?! Geez! It's not like we haven't stolen from supermarkets before!!" she shouted. Renji stood up abruptly from his couch and towered over her figure.

"Yes, we have stolen from supermarkets before, but that was in the slums! In here! Our suburb, our neighbourhood! Not the _town_! You do realize how many times I've told you that they have video cameras there, don't you?!"

"They're too fucking rich to bother coming to our suburb anyway!" she screamed. Renji swore loudly and kicked his couch over and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes livid.

"Fuck this all to HELL RUKIA! DO YOU WANT TO GET CAUGHT BY THE POLICE?! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO LIVE A LIFE IN PRISON RATHER THAN HERE?! THINGS ARE HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS!!"

"AS IF YOU WOULD KNOW, YOU'RE NOT A WHORE LIKE ME! YOU'RE NOT A SLUT LIKE ME! YOU'RE NOT _ME_!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. "FUCK THIS, I'D RATHER BE IN PRISON RIGHT NOW THAN LIVE AS ME!" She grabbed the pile of goods she had stolen and chucked them all around Renji's apartment all at once. "HAVE IT, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE, I DON'T CARE! I'LL JUST GO ROT IN MY APARTMENT AND FUCKING DIE, NO ONE WANTS ME ANYWAY!"

She stormed out of his apartment and slammed the door with all her strength, the hinges of his door needing to be repaired again. The rain, feeling her sorrow, began to come down in bucketfuls, mocking her, taunting her, killing her. She did the only thing she could do at the moment.

She ran.

Her feet pounding and slipping against the wet concrete, her high heels lost ages ago, she ran. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't bother using her sense of direction this time. She just ran, unaware of the fact that she wasn't running towards the hellhole she called her home. No, she wasn't running there. She was running farther away from there, she was running towards somewhere her heart was tugging her towards. She was running where she had unconsciously felt secure, safe, sound, warm…

Loved.

* * *

SPLASH

"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING ROOM!!"

"Now we've really made him mad otou-chan!"

"All for the better!"

"I'm so not related to you guys."

Ichigo kicked his father out of his room and, seething, pointed towards the doorway, his two sisters marching out obediently. Ichigo slammed his door closed after his family had left his room and dragged a hand down his dripping, wet face. He looked at the offending bucket on the floor that was originally filled with water and kicked it as hard as he could.

"FUCK FAMILY VACATIONS!"

* * *

The wheels on the car spun round and round, the engine roaring silently and the windows that were rolled down blowing wind and oxygen in the family sedan that was driving through the streets. Ichigo had a grim expression on his face for the whole time he was driving, his small mp3 player on full blast. His father beside him was tired from last night's late surgery and his two sisters had fallen asleep eventually.

What was Kurosaki Ichigo doing you may ask?

And where exactly was he driving to?

Well, everytime the autumn chill came around, in mid-September, the Kurosaki family was given a choice to- no, was forcibly _dragged_ to a holiday vacation that would last a week or two.

Why?

Well, couldn't a lonely father just spend some quality time with his family for once?

So here he was, stuck in a car with a crazy man, a wonderful cook, and a sarcastic little sister.

Quite an interesting combo for a family, no?

Ichigo sighed and roughly pulled the earphones out of his ear after becoming bored of listening to just music. He looked at the other occupants of the car and allowed a small twitch of his lips upwards. His family was just a crazy bunch of people that you couldn't help but not hate. He drove on with one arm steadily holding the wheel, and another leaning against the windowsill. He allowed his eyes to widen when he heard the panicked screams and shouts from nearby vicinity. He turned his head to see a large crowd of people towering over something on the ground.

"What if it's a person in need of medical help?" his father gruffly asked, his chin resting on his son's shoulder.

"GAH!" Ichigo shouted, swerving the car slightly and stepping hard on the brakes. "DON'T DO THAT OLD MAN!" he shouted at his insane father. He brushed off his son's comment and opened the door to the car with a serious expression on, Yuzu all wide-awake and following him with a first aid kit. Karin watched after them from the car with furrowed eyebrows and a worried scowl. Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair.

_Might as well check it out,_ he grumbled to himself. He begrudgingly opened the door and closed it with a loud slam, frustrated at the day's events. He pushed through the crowd and gently excused himself to see what the commotion was. His heart stopped beating and his breath hitched in his throat, his eyes wide with shock.

_That girl!_ His head began to spin. What was she doing here like this?!

The girl that had stolen his purity was laying on the floor, her head all hot and sweaty, her mouth opened in a desperate attempt to gather oxygen in her lungs, her body splayed out on the floor, soaked wet from the previous night's rain. He bent down next to his father and felt her temperature, yelping and stealing his hand back. He was burned. Literally.

"Dad, what's wrong with her?!" he asked worriedly.

"High temperature… heavy breathing… Ichigo, we have to take her back to the clinic for better check up and inspection," Isshin muttered dangerously, facing his son. Ichigo nodded and ushered Yuzu to the car, following after her noticing that his father had already picked up the woman bridal style. The crowd around the woman had dispersed, no longer too worried knowing that they were in the safe hands of the Kurosaki family.

Isshin had laid the girl in the back seat with her head on Yuzu's lap and her legs on Karin's own. Karin opened her mouth to remark, but kept quiet. She had noticed that both her father and Ichigo were quite serious at the moment. The drive back to Kurosaki clinic was silent too.

* * *

Blurry, blinding, white lights.

It was the only thing she could see right now. Rukia opened her eyes and rubbed at them furiously, trying to make her eyesight somewhat better. She sat up and looked around herself, noticing it was too clean, too white, and definitely not. Her. Apartment. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing and noticed that the long sleeve dress she had on was actually past mid-thigh. It was a purple bubble dress that ended halfway down her shins.

She looked around once again and nearly jumped at the feeling of something moving in her arm. She looked at her hand to see a needle taped inside of her skin. She immediately became repulsed and began to peel the tape off. She first looked to where the needle connected and became afraid.

What was she doing in a healthy and sanitized hospital looking room?!

She began to rip at the tape and scratch at it, becoming afraid with each passing second. She shouldn't be here. She didn't deserve to be here, not again.

"Ah! You shouldn't do that!" came a surprised young voice. Rukia looked towards the doorway to a girl with sandy hair tied in a high ponytail. Wait…

That girl from the clinic!

Rukia's wide eyes must've given some sort of sign to Yuzu to be careful.

"Hey… we found you on the street and decided to treat you for the moment… are you feeling okay?" Yuzu asked, sitting on the bed. Rukia began to slowly inch away and nodded. The girl didn't seem to recognize her from yesterday. "Oh! Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Yuzu, Kurosaki Yuzu. How about you? What's your name, miss?" Rukia eyed her warily and swallowed the large lump in her throat.

"R-Rukia…" she mumbled. Yuzu's eyes lightened up.

"Rukia? Is it katakana for Lucia in Italian? For light?"

"How the fuck should I know?!" Rukia hissed. She then clasped her mouth with her hand quickly, her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude," Rukia muttered, not sharing eye contact with the girl. _Great, now she probably hates me and thinks of me as a bitch, _Rukia seethed in her mind. What else could she do? She wasn't raised with manners, and neither was her home.

"Oh that's ok, I'm used to it. I have a brother just like you!" she giggled. Rukia raised her head and eyed the girl with interest.

"Just… Just like me?" she questioned. She doubted that. Yuzu smiled and nodded.

"Oh! I baked some cookies, that's the reason I came down here in the first place! Silly me!" She pulled out of her pocket a pink handkerchief that was neatly tied into a small pouch with a blue ribbon. She pulled the ribbon and opened it up to reveal animal shaped cookies. Rukia's eyes lit up.

"May I?" Rukia asked eagerly. Yuzu giggled.

"Sure!"

Rukia gingerly picked up a cookie shaped like a giraffe and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly and savouring the taste.

"Is it… Is it not nice?" Yuzu questioned worriedly, noticing Rukia's eyes were closed. They snapped open and she shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, no! They're delicious! The best I've ever tasted!" Rukia said happily, reaching for one more. Yuzu smiled at the young woman. She checked the IV drip was still going and stood up, gently placing the cookies in Rukia's hand.

"Here, you can have the rest, I made a whole batch upstairs. You just stay here and rest ok?"

"No!"

Yuzu raised a brow at the girl's outburst. Rukia blushed and bowed her head down.

"I-I mean, ok…" she mumbled. Yuzu smiled and walked out the door. Rukia looked at the cookies in her hand and looked beside her bed to find a bin there. She held the edge of the handkerchief and poured its contents into the bin.

_I don't deserve this kindness, nor this delicious food. I shouldn't even be here,_ Rukia thought gloomily. She emptied out the crumbs too and folded the handkerchief neatly onto the table beside her white bed. She stood up and pulled the tape and needle out of her hand. She began to walk over to open the door and realized it was locked. Rukia shook the handle a few more times.

It wouldn't budge.

"Damn!" Rukia cursed. The light thunder of footsteps told her someone was coming, so she jumped back into bed, jabbed the needle back in and stuck the tape back on top. She covered her feeble body with the blanket and leaned against the wall with pillows supporting her back and head, prepared for whoever would come through the door.

However, she was far from prepared at who had opened the door.

Tears sprung to her eyes when she saw the man that had cared for her come into view. He smiled slightly and walked over, sitting on the bed.

"Hey stranger, how ya feeling?" Ichigo asked kindly, stroking her hair. He had no idea what gave him the impulse to do that, he just did it like it was… natural. Rukia's smile turned into a small cry as tears began to fall again. Ichigo began to panic. "W-What's wrong? Was it something I said? Did I do something the other night? Did-"

"Just…" Ichigo paused when he heard the soft voice of the woman beside him. She surprised him when she embraced him and hid her face in his chest. "Just hold me, ok?" she cried softly, her whimpers clear and sad. Ichigo nodded though she couldn't see and held her to his frame, his hand stroking her hair over and over in a comforting motion.

_What are you doing, Rukia?! _Rukia berated in her mind. _Don't get attached to men! That was the number one law in becoming a prostitute!_

"It's ok… I'll help you if I can…"

And that alone was enough to break her willpower and soul, her cries becoming louder and her tears falling faster. After a while when she had finished crying, the two just sat there, leaning against the wall of pillows, listening to each other's breathing. Ichigo realized what he was doing and the moment suddenly became awkward from him. He raised an arm from her shoulder and coughed into his hand lightly to gain her attention. When he received no reaction, he coughed again.

He looked down and smiled lightly when he realized the girl was asleep. He felt her temperature and was glad to see it had gone down a lot since yesterday. She laid her back down on the bed comfortably and tucked her in. He stood up and turned off the light, closing the door quietly with a click.

As soon as that click was heard, Rukia's eyes snapped open.

* * *

He had to admit, this was quite a funny scene to walk into. He opened the door outwards and watched in silent laughter as the girl with black hair was bent down, 3 bobby pins and paper clips in her mouth and one of each in her hands as she tried to picklock the door.

"So, this is what you were up to?" Isshin had said, amused. Rukia blushed and sat down on the floor in defeat.

"Alright, what do you want," Rukia sighed. She looked up at the man and her heart skipped a beat. Her lungs stopped taking in air, and her eyes became stressed at the stuff she was putting them through. She knew him. She didn't know where, she didn't know how, but-

She knew this man.

The man in his 40s smiled at her.

"So, finally recognize me, Rukia-chan?"

"W-who are you?" Rukia asked cautiously. Isshin chuckled.

"No need to worry, but tell me, how is good ol' Byakuya?" He nearly raised a brow at how clueless she was.

"Who the fuck is Byakuya?" she asked mercilessly. Isshin's worry pit began to grow at the bottom of his stomach.

"Aren't you… part of the Kuchikis?" he asked quietly with caution like she did earlier.

"I'm an Ichimaru."

All time ceased right there and then for Isshin.

What in the _world_ was she doing as an _Ichimaru_!? Before Isshin could even open his lips to speak, his son came in and broke the tension.

"Hey dad, is she-" Ichigo's eyes widened a fair bit when he saw her sitting on the floor. "Hey, hey! What are you doing out of bed and on the floor?! Get back on!" he said sternly, ushering her back. She had a deadly glare on her face, but did nothing as he settled her back into bed. Ichigo turned to the doorway to ask his father another thing, but by the time he turned his head, his father was gone. Ichigo raised a brow.

_That was weird_…

"Hey… I didn't catch a name yet…" a quiet voice beside him muttered. Ichigo looked to his right. He stared into the doe-like eyes once again and examined her face. Though she was always skinny, this time she seemed a bit more skinnier than usual, her cheeks a bit hollow, grey bags under her eyes. Ichigo held her hand that used to have the IV drip in it and looked back into her eyes.

"Kurosaki. Kurosaki Ichigo," he introduced. Rukia smiled.

"Finally, I know the name of the man who gave me the best sex ever."

"Huh!?" Ichigo blushed furiously. Rukia smirked at him and giggled.

"You say you're a virgin, but I oh so beg to differ. It even seemed like you were better than me! You're a natural Hun," she winked.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Rukia laughed and leaned against her pillows for another good hour or so of sleep.

"Wake me up when it's 5, ok?" she mumbled before going out cold like a light. Ichigo raised a brow at the strange girl. Apparently, according to Yuzu, her name was Rukia. He shook his head and headed out the door, closing it softly. He stood with his ear to the door to see if she was going to move anymore. When she didn't he nodded in satisfaction. He walked off, testing her name out on his tongue for the first time.

"Rukia. Ru..ki..a.. Hm… Strange name for a Jap girl…" he said out loud.

"Not any stranger than yours, you're a freaking fruit," Karin remarked bluntly from her position on the couch as she flicked through the channels.

"Karin, shut up."

"Bite me."

* * *

A deep sigh of aggravation left the lips of a brown haired man who had currently thrown his thick, black glasses down onto the table and rubbed the bridge of his nose in stress. Across him was a fox like man that sat slumped in the black, leather chair, his normally happy and sinister smile now a frown.

"Where the fuck did that whore go?" Aizen hissed, slamming his hand on the table. Ichimaru ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he did really beat her too hard this time. After all, she vomited. Plus a little side dish of blood. But that was usual.

Ichimaru stood up from his leather chair and walked towards the old fashioned black phone. He quickly dialed the numbers he wanted and snarled into the phone as soon as someone picked up.

"Find Ichimaru Rukia, NOW!"

* * *

"This really wasn't necessary!" a feeble voice countered in defeat.

"Nonsense! You were running away, we couldn't have _that_ happen!" said an overly happy 40 year old.

"Not my idea, wanted no part of this," came the dull voice of a 19-year-old girl.

"Come on Karin, she's in frail condition!" cheered another girl.

Well, what in the _world_ was happening?

Well…

Tied up in a strait jacket and hung on a stick carried between two people was Rukia. She felt like a food offering to the gods right now, and Isshin and Karin were the tribal people about to eat her alive. They carried the stick on their left shoulders, Rukia hanging upside down like a pig over a spitfire would. She had the most amusing expression on her face at the present moment, for she now knew what it would be like to run away from the family.

Scratch that off the list!

She sighed in defeat and allowed herself to be carried away back to the clinic. Hopefully no one was looking or gawking at her right now – Oh look, there's a little boy that's staring at her in shock with his mouth wide open and his ice-cream fallen to the ground in shock. Well, that was expected. Oh look, his mother who is a spitting image of him has the exact same expression on. Funny. Rukia gave a grimaced smile to the child and mother and continued to be carried off.

As they neared the clinic, Rukia awaited her impending doom with the family.

Oh how she had learned her lesson in not running away.

Her sight was blurred and continually moving up and down as she bobbed with each step Karin and Isshin took, very ungrateful for the fact that they were both walking at different paces. Rukia sighed in aggravation and admitted defeat. Well actually, she admitted that as soon as she was wrapped in the strait jacket.

Why couldn't they see that?

Ichigo watched from his position standing next to the window as he watched the young woman be dragged back. He chuckled to himself as he watched the vain expression on her face. When she had lifted her head after feeling someone was gazing at her, she lifted her head and made direct eye contact with the man. The gaze and tension between the two was thick until Rukia had finally smiled lightly and turned away, the slightest of pink tint on her cheeks. He chuckled though he had a small red tint of his own and headed downstairs to greet the young woman.

That's what you get for trying to run away from the Kurosaki family.

* * *

**Author's Note -**

Another installment of Where Angels Fear to Tread :D

hope u enjoyed it ^^

**Ruki-Chan**


	3. You can't survive on Hope only

She was happily sipping at her newly found invention that was called the juice box and watched curiously beside a twitching orange headed man. She sipped at the box and looked up at the man with wide, child-like eyes. She looked back, straight ahead of her and surveyed the sight. She shrugged it off and began to skip out of the room in her skimpy black and white dress again. It was white strapped and a thick, white rim went around the top with a black ribbon on the side, a thick, white stripe at the bottom of her dress too. The back of her dress began to stretch as a man at the age of 24 that wore a white t-shirt that said Bite Me in graffiti and baggy jeans had grabbed the back of it, preventing her escape.

"Care to explain what happened while I was at work…?" Ichigo growled low in his throat, Rukia still facing the door. His room had two beds on either side of the room, the closet now moved in between the two mattresses, against the wall. She slipped out of her dress and shamelessly ran away down the hall, skidding to a stop at the end and then running down the stairs while Ichigo stood in his doorway to his old room with a horrified expression.

"RUKIA!!!"

* * *

Isshin hummed happily as he shook the laundry to get rid of any unwanted pests and then folded it neatly into a pile. Since Yuzu had gone to stay at a friend's house till dinner, Isshin had taken up the liberty of doing laundry himself. His humming and smile dropped when he heard a thundering noise, almost like a hippo stampede. He shrugged it off.

"Perhaps it's my stupid son watching the discovery animal channel," he said nonchalantly. He began his ridiculous humming again and stretched out the shirt that belonged to Yuzu, shook it, and then folded it, adding it to the pile of her clothing. Again, his humming stopped when he heard the stampede like noise. He raised a brow in mock question and leaned sideward a little, turning around and looking at the wooden stairs that led back upstairs from the basement. The stampede had stopped, and it was once again silent.

Isshin shrugged once more, and as soon as he turned around again, he jumped in surprise when he heard the roar of an angry lion that was runaway from discovery channel.

"PUT SOME GODDAMN CLOTHES ON RUKIA!!!"

Isshin swerved around and stared in horror and slight embarrassment when he saw a bra less, underwear-wearing Rukia laughing and running away from a bright red Ichigo that was running around chasing her with a dress in hand. Isshin stared in horror nonetheless while the two continued to play a sick and twisted game of cat and mouse. Rukia paused and smiled happily at the kind doctor, waving in a bubbly manner.

"Hello Oji-sama!!" she cheered. He could only nod dumbly in reply and turned back around to hang the laundry and get rid of the image of his naked third daughter out of mind. Even though she was still a patient staying at the clinic until she was healthy, she was still considered a third daughter. No matter… _how_ bold she was…

The giggles and laughing had travelled upstairs, followed by the roaring and screaming that was holding her only article of clothing.

* * *

She had just settled into the couch and began flipping channels when her boredom had begun to take over. Karin yawned loudly and then sleepily blinked as her thumb just automatically clicked the next button click after click. She was undisturbed when a happy melody came on and the couch seat beside her suddenly became occupied as a lithe figure jumped over the top of the couch and bounced next to her.

"Can you keep it on this channel?" Rukia asked eagerly. Not paying attention to the bare woman beside her, Karin nodded. She nearly dozed off to the sound of Chappy the Rabbit TV show until she head a stampede, than a roar.

"PUT THIS DRESS ON NOW, WOMAN!!"

Karin jumped from her place and turned towards the direction where Rukia was sitting in to look behind the couch at her fuming brother. He was bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't tell, but he was steaming, and in his hand he held a dress.

… A very _familiar_ dress…

Karin looked beside her and screamed at the sight of a Rukia now wearing a black and white striped bra and matching underwear. Karin grabbed the pillow beside her and hid her red face, screaming into it. It's not that she couldn't stand the sight of another woman. She was just very surprised to see someone half naked. Nearly naked. Heck, practically naked.

Rukia laughed beside Karin and she could hear it past the muffled world of her pillow. She could feel Rukia's cool hands ruffle her hair as she walked off. She grabbed the dress from Ichigo and leaned up, pretending to kiss him. He began to stumble backwards with his arms up in surrender, as he tripped on a random wooden table behind him, sitting on it. Rukia giggled and skipped off to his room to change.

He sighed and dragged a hand down his face. He looked over to the horrified Karin sitting on the couch.

"…"

"…"

"How long is she gonna stay here…?" Karin mumbled quietly.

"Not long if I can help it," Ichigo growled low in his throat, his face bright red.

* * *

"Hn…" Rukia inspected as she stared at the long body length mirror that moved from Ichigo's apartment to his old room here in the clinic. She smiled at the handiwork that foundation powder could do now. Oh the wonders of non-shitty make up. They worked perfectly in hiding the long, agonizing scars on Rukia's back. Rukia smiled and slid the dress back on. Oh how teasing this family was fun. Even if it was to experiment if foundation powder actually worked in hiding her hideous past.

She tiptoed downstairs and noticed that the family was sitting quietly on the couch now, minus Yuzu. They watched TV blankly, as if they weren't even paying attention. Rukia cleared her throat and three heads turned towards her at the same time. Two blushed and looked away while one gave a big smile. Isshin stood up with the smile still on his face as he wrapped an arm around Rukia's shoulder and led her towards the clinic room downstairs.

"Good girl, you remembered your appointment checkup!" he chuckled. Rukia smiled at him with a smile they both knew was fake, as they walked towards the cold, white room filled with sharp, dangerous objects. She obediently sat down on the white bed on one side of the room and watched as Isshin calmly grabbed a needle and began to rip open the packet.

"So, Rukia-chan, may I ask what occupation you have?"

"Prostitution," she answered bluntly. He winced slightly at the dead tone and decided to move onto a happier topic. No wonder she was so shameless just now. Rukia's eyes began to widen when he connected a HUGE tube to the end of the needle looking thing. She noticed it was different from those other normal needles.

"Ah, so, how old are you?"

"21," she answered in an unsure voice. She began to shake as he came closer with the needle. "Ah, wait, wait, hold up!" she said shakily, backing away from him on the bed, holding her hands up. "Oji-sama, what's that?!" Her voice raised itself to a higher octave as she had indeed seen similar needles like so, except they weren't used for medicinal purposes.

"Oh, no need to worry Rukia-san, this is just something everyone needs to do in order to be able to helped in medical emergencies, or I could just examine it, since I know you're in bad health," he soothed.

"_**Stop it!"**_ Rukia closed her eyes tightly and blocked out the voices with her hands as she clutched at her head, and rolled into a ball.

"_**Come on little pretty, it won't hurt, it's just a lovely nice feeling!"**_

Isshin was alarmed when he saw tears gather at the corner of her eyelashes, her mumbling becoming small, sobbing whispers.

"_**Stop it, no, I don't want it!" **_

"_**Sure you do! We want a fun night don't we?" one of the men cooed, holding a needle in his hand, filled with whatever drug he bought that night. The other man stood behind her, gripping her arms behind her back. **_

"_**DON'T TOUCH ME!"**_

"Rukia…" Isshin said cautiously, advancing towards her slowly, as if she could crack with the slightest movement. The moment his fingers brushed her skin, she screamed.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"

* * *

Ichigo took a deep inhale of the coffee smell that was in his hands right now, the best coffee he had ever tasted, not like those shit ones back at the hospital that were meant to keep the night shift people awake. He closed his eyes and smiled, holding the cup with both hands close to his mouth.

"Don't have an orgasm right on the spot Ichi-nii," Karin said bluntly as she walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Bite me," Ichigo snapped back at his sister, no longer holding the coffee with love.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Ichigo dropped his coffee and ran towards the sound of Rukia's distressed scream as Karin dropped the jug of juice she was holding and followed suit. Coffee, glass, juice and plastic fell to the floor unnoticed as two beings ran as fast as they could towards the sound. Ichigo jumped the steps and landed, rolling onto his feet and once again standing up, running. Karin decided to be smart and save her bones as she leapt the steps 2 at a time. Ichigo found the room door that was slightly ajar and slammed it open, watching in shock as there was a crying Rukia in the corner on the bed as Isshin stood to the side helplessly with a blood test needle.

Karin appeared not too long after and panted, trying to catch her breath much like her brother now. She looked at Rukia and felt sympathy for the poor girl. Ichigo walked over and took the needle from his father gently, giving him a look that told him to leave. He nodded and gently began to usher Karin out the door, closing it quietly behind him. Ichigo set the needle down on the table and stood with a hand on his hip, the other running down his face as he watched the wall for a moment to contemplate what he should do. His eyes flickered back to the horrified girl on the bed who shook all over, her face pale and her eyes red with tears.

Ichigo walked over and sat on the bed. Feeling a presence close to her, Rukia began to cry louder as she curled up into a tighter ball. Ichigo's warm hands eased the tight grip she had on herself. She slapped the hands away and sat up, shouting at him.

"Don't you even dare try to fucking help me!" she hissed. He gave her a stern look as he held both her wrists. Her tears continued to fall. "Don't, don't you dare, I don't need it! I don't need it!!" she began to scream, trying to break free of his grip. He brought her hands to his chest and boxed her in, her head now lying on his chest. She had given up resisting as she began to cry more tears that wouldn't stop.

"Shhh… it's ok…" he murmured into her hair, rocking his body back and forth as she sat on his lap, stroking her hair. She fisted his shirt in her hands as her tears of anguish and reminisced pain came back. No one came to save her that day. She wasn't meant to be a princess that had a happy ending and prince charming to come save her. She didn't have a hero to escape the clutches of evil.

No.

No one had come to save her that day as she was drugged unconscious, raped, heavily beaten, and god knows what they did to her body, as she had found it sore all over, inside and out.

"You don't understand!" she sobbed, her face scrunched into pain. "You wouldn't understand!" she cried once more. Ichigo's eyes had a faraway look in them as he held her to his chest.

"No…" he whispered quietly into her hair. "I wouldn't understand." This blunt statement of his had somehow broken Rukia's heart further. Haha. Funny. Her heart was never even there to start with. "But I could try to," he whispered later, holding her even tighter to his frame. Her cries became louder in desperation as she tried her best to believe that. Ichigo opened one eye when she was definitely not looking behind her. Ichigo slowly and unsuspectingly opened the drawer beside the bed and grabbed a pill from successfully opening a small bottle. He slowly slipped it into his mouth and brought his hands to Rukia's face as he lifted it up.

Her teary eyes shone brightly in the light, her tears wetting her face further. Ichigo wiped the tears away and smiled at her, bringing her lips to his and kissing her sweetly. Next moment, Ichigo slipped the pill into her mouth and held her mouth closed with one hand as she began to struggle, her eyes wide in shock and heavy fear. She began to struggle, but Ichigo closed his eyes to block out the pain he was feeling. Once he felt the body go limp, he laid her down on the bed.

She was fast asleep.

Ichigo looked down at her with guilt and picked up the needle on the bedside table. He slowly injected it into the softest area of the inside of her elbow joint and the tube began to fill with black-red blood. He remained unmoving and emotionless as his father nearly slammed the door open.

"Ichigo, what did you do," he growled in a low tone. He had watched from the small window that was on the door, showing the head and shoulders of Isshin. Ichigo remained silent and counted down the seconds to when the tube would be filled. He further ignored his father when he walked closer to his son. Ichigo hurriedly took the tube off of the needle and quickly pressed a medi-swab against the spot where the needle had been, pressing hard to stop the blood flow. When Rukia was safe, Ichigo put a Chappy the Rabbit band aid, seeing as it was the only one present in the drawer now.

Isshin held his son up by the collar.

"What do you think you're doing boy?!" Ichigo shoved his father's hand away and began to walk out the door. He stood there in the doorway and held the doorknob, stilling his movements.

"I think I would rather care for her health first, rather than her feelings." Isshin's eyes widened at the harsh words that came out of his mouth. He paid attention when his son said the next set of words. "If we do not care for her health first, what feelings will there be to feel if she dies?" And with that, he left his father standing alone in the room.

* * *

Ichigo sighed in annoyance as he quickly allowed his reflexes to shut the clinic door before the spoon the patient threw actually reached his face. It hit the door with a loud clang and made a loud noise as it clattered to the floor. Ichigo waited for a moment of silence as he rubbed a hand down his face and waited for the screaming inside to stop. Once it was silent, Ichigo grabbed a pillow from the waiting room couches he was standing near and opened the door, blocking his face from a bowl of hot, rice porridge coming his way.

He dropped the sticky and now dirty pillow and walked towards the seething patient on the bed.

"Don't touch me!" Rukia hissed.

Yup. She was still mad about the whole knocking her dead and stealing her blood thing. Ichigo ruffled his hair and sat down on the bed next to her. She wiggled further away and leaned against the wall, far away from him.

"Well, we found out a lot of things thanks to that blood test," Ichigo tried to comfort. Rukia glared at him and snapped back

"Like what?" Ichigo took the clipboard that hung at the end of her bed and began to observe it.

"Well… your calcium and iron is low, you're having a few symptoms of anorexia…Oh, and my dad did all the work in observing your blood, not me. And what else is there… well to put it bluntly, you're really unhealthy," Ichigo deadpanned at the end. Rukia scoffed and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.

"Hah. Tell me something I _don't _know."

"You need new clothes."

* * *

Her mouth was literally watering as she stood there outside the shop, staring down through the mirror and the glass that was blocking her from her eye candy. Ichigo walked back a few paces as he stopped to watch what Rukia was staring at. He was walking ahead talking to her when he realized she stopped at the cake shop. He began to observe the cakes himself and his mouth began to water too. They looked so appetizing…

_Yuzu's cakes are better,_ Ichigo mused in his head. He was snapped out of his pride of his sister when Rukia asked him a question.

"S-sorry, what was that?" Ichigo asked as he stood behind her.

"Which cake do you want?" Rukia asked. Ichigo chuckled. He knew he was the one with money not her, and yet here she was, offering to buy it.

"I like that one!" Ichigo jested, pointing to a vanilla sponge cake that had vanilla icing and strawberries. It had a thing layer of strawberry icing in the middle too. In a flash, Ichigo was left to stand all alone and horrified as Rukia dashed inside the store, jumped over the counter, elbowed the shop keeper in the temple, smashed the glass open with her fist, and grabbed the cake and started running.

"RUKIA!!!"

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I swear, I'm gonna get white hairs just looking after you," Ichigo sighed, dabbing at her hand with a large cotton ball, the disinfectant on it stinging her hand greatly.

"Ouch!!" she yelped. Ichigo kept her hand in place. He sighed again and put the anti-bacterial cotton ball down, now wrapping her hand in bandages. She cut it while she broke the display glass for the cake, and when the police shot her. Ichigo screamed like crazy and ran in the middle of the crossfire, and his eyes bulged out of his head when he saw Rukia pull a handgun out from a thigh holster under her dress. Ichigo hid her from the police's view and held her close to his body to block the shot she was going to make. He could see the murder in her eyes.

He wasn't protecting her from the police, he could tell.

He was protecting the police from _her._

"Honestly, what would make you steal like that? Aren't you rich or something?" Ichigo murmured while bandaging her hand. He was shocked when Rukia tilted her head back and began to let out a harsh and bitter laugh. Wasn't her job well paid?

"Ahaha! You're a funny one, you know that?" she mocked with a deadly smirk, her eyes creased in a sinister smile. But he noticed, no matter how good she was at hiding things, that her eyes held sadness in them, a longing that made her yearn. Ichigo scratched the back of his head and packed up the first aid kit. Rukia tried to roll her wrist around to stabilise it. Ichigo packed away the cupboard and face her again.

"You know I still haven't bought any clothes for you yet?"

* * *

"Yea, sorry 'bout that Yuzu," Ichigo said quietly, defeated.

"_It's ok nii-chan, we'll do anything for Rukia-neesan!_" Yuzu said cheerfully on the other line.

"_Yuzu, we're not their slaves, why can't they get bloody clothes for her themselves?!_" Ichigo could hear Karin shout.

"Bye!" he quickly blurted out before hanging up. He put the phone back on its hook and stood with a hand on his hip, and another hand running down his face. He turned around to Rukia, who was sitting innocently on the couch. He glared and sat down next to her, his elbows on his knees. He rubbed the contours out of his face and turned to Rukia.

"How old are you again?" he asked wearily.

"21," she chirped. _3 years younger than me…_ Ichigo thought in his head.

"And, uh, have you had _any_ shopping experience at all? Like, _any_?" he asked. She began to survey the room, and noticed a poster of a beautiful woman with the words 'Masaki Forever' written underneath. _Must be a celebrity…_Rukia mused. She continued to ignore Ichigo's personal questions of her life that she never wanted to answer and looked around. When she noticed a photo on the small bookshelf beside the TV, she stood up to examine it, ignoring Ichigo's frantic shouts.

She walked over and picked up the photo of the happy family of five.

_Five…? Four… What happened to the mother..? _Rukia asked herself quietly in her head.

"Hey! Don't touch that!" a voice snapped at her, slamming the photo frame back down and faced down, so no one would be able to see it. She glared at him.

"I am only doing what you are doing to me," she snapped. He glared back, unafraid of the icyness in her eyes.

"And what the hell was I doing, per se?" he hissed. She slapped him with a velocity he never knew existed as he stumbled and fell over the coffee table onto the couch.

"Who do you think you are, who gave you the _right_ to fucking just walk into my life and ask questions I don't want to answer?!" she shouted at him, a superiority in her tone and stance. She stormed up the steps and slammed the door to one of the rooms, God forbid it be his. Ichigo rubbed his eyes and stood up abruptly, slamming a pillow onto the wooden table to make a large noise of anger.

He stood there panting heavily when he realised the coffee table had a crack in it due to the _pillow._ He kicked the coffee table over and contently listened to the shattering of glass. He stormed up the stairs to cool off in his own room and nearly tore his hair out when he realised that Rukia was lying on the other bed with her head in the pillow.

_So that was what the second bed was for…_ Ichigo thought angrily in his head. He strode over and grabbed the hairs on her head, lifting her face up. She complied without struggle and gave him a deadly glare that she gave when defending herself.

"Get the fuck outta my room," he hissed in her face. Her glare became deadlier as she refused bluntly. He began to toss her hair to the side, towards the door, but she did a roundhouse kick and sweeped his feet off the floor. He fell with a loud thud and had no time to react as the bitch standing above him had sat on his lean stomach and grabbed the collar of his shirt, punching his face. He quickly spat the blood out and did a flip to stand back on his feet, reaching a leg out to kick her.

Yes, he had become a master of martial arts after Tatsuki had kicked his ass over and over again, and no, he wasn't scared of hitting a girl. Tatsuki counted, didn't she? She jumped back, narrowly avoiding the kick and jumped atop the bed, trying to run for the door. Ichigo noticed her intentions and ran towards the door, leaning against it heavily with his body, crashing into it. Rukia yelped as her arm got caught between the door and Ichigo's heavy weight. He had totally forgotten his soul purpose was to make her exit the room, not stop her.

She used advantage of her arm being secured heavily in place and swung her body off the bed and propelled it forward, aiming for his ribs with her legs. He toppled over and fell heavily to the floor, bashing his head against the doorknob, successfully denting it. She quickly leaped for the dented doorknob and tried to yank the door open and realised in horror that Ichigo was blocking the way with his body, and kicked her off her feet much like she did earlier to him.

"Fuck!" they both swore. Rukia backflipped to her feet again and then jumped onto Ichigo's bed with her hand reaching under her dress. Ichigo leaped forward and held her neck in a fatal position, where one movement of his hand could break her neck completely, whereas Rukia held a gun to his head. They stayed still in that position, not daring to move.

That was how Isshin found his son and third daughter. Isshin blinked and stood in silent horror as he was witnessing a lot of laws being broken.

"I... um… I'll just give you guys some space-AH!" he yelped, slamming the door shut as a bullet and a glass cup was thrown his way. He listened to the bullet thunk against the door and the glass shatter upon contact. He ran downstairs to warn the girls not to go up there.

* * *

"Oh Yuzu, thank you so much! They're beautiful!" Rukia exclaimed, holding up the new pair of pyjamas the twins chose for her. After being scarred for partial life after seeing a certain someone naked, Karin asked her father if he could take her to pick up Yuzu and he gladly agreed. They both left with Yuzu just to do some window-shopping in the mall when Ichigo had called up for some proper clothes for Rukia. Yuzu and Isshin had the time of their lives while Karin just stayed down at the arcade and spent all her money.

"Honestly it's the least we could do for you Rukia-chan," Isshin said marvelously. Rukia gave a pained grimace that somewhat resembled a smile. She began to rub at her neck unconciously as she tried to hide the purple-blue forming there.

**

The pair was breathing harshly; their breaths shallow and desperate, for they both knew a wrong move could kill one or the other. Taking no chances like those people in movies who waited forever and were killed, Rukia shot Ichigo in the shoulder where it could easily be dislodged and ducked as she ran for her life and her neck. She left the man kneeling in his room howling in pain as she slammed the door and held it shut by pushing against it.

Once sure that he would not come after her, Rukia ran for it downstairs, trying to find some sort of sanctuary. Instead, she found the twins and their father.

**

Rukia retired to the bathroom for the current moment as she winced at each little movement she made with her hands, foot, and tweezers. She began to apply pressure to the surrounding area, hopefully trying to get out the shard of glass she had stepped on trying to get out of Ichigo's room. She had faced worst before, she'll live. She smiled in triumph when she heard the faint tinkle of a piece of glass falling to the ground. Though she couldn't see it, she knew there was a little piece of glass hidden somewhere in the huge puddle of blood she created.

She slowly reached out for the bandages she brought with her just a moment before to wrap around her foot. What a relief it was to feel your muscles relax again after being freed from being stabbed for a long, agonising half hour. She couldn't exactly tell them she was walking around with a piece of glass stuck up her foot, so she kept quiet for the time that the family was talking to her. She began to clean up the mess on the floor. Bending down and hovering over the floor too long, her back began to ache. She straightened up and stretched, giving a tired yawn while at it.

The rag beside her was soaked with blood as it floated eerily in the water bowl she had prepared. Rukia looked at her foot once more for careful measures and then smiled to herself satisfactorily. She stood up to clean the rag before anyone from the family found it but-

The door opened to reveal a scowling orange-headed man that glared at the young woman who occupied the white tile room. She stared at him for a moment before tipping out the contents of the bowl and washing the rag. Ichigo's eyes shot from her small face to her tiny hands that were washing _blood?_

Ichigo rolled his eyes, totally not guilty of injuring her. She fucking shot him in the shoulder, and he was meant to _sympathize _for her?

He didn't think so.

He strode over to the sink where she stood at and easily opened the cupboard above her head without hitting it to his displeasure. He grabbed the first aid kit and then went over to the bathtub to sit on the edge. He opened it noisily and rummaged for the long pair of tweezers that he knew were in there…

Somewhere.

While rummaging, he cursed when his thumb ran over something sharp. He glanced up at the shadow that momentarily towered over him. He straightened his back and almost laughed at loud, if the moment weren't so serious. He was almost the same height as her, sitting, while she stood straight and tall. She held in her hand the pair of cursed tweezers he was looking for and stared down at him.

Looking down at her hands, he noticed past those delicate hands, he saw a bandaged foot. Ichigo glared at her one more time before shedding off his shirt quickly and snatching the tweezers away from her. He glowered at her one final time before looking down at his shoulder where she shot him. She scoffed, almost laughing harshly, and began to walk away.

Though he tried his absolute hardest, he couldn't help but let out that single yelp of pain that broke Rukia's heart. She stiffened and closed her eyes tightly, teeth bared as she tried hard to hold in the tears that dared to spring again. Her stiff posture that held the doorknob told Ichigo there was something wrong, but he paid no mind as blood began to pour from the wound once again.

**

The little girl was running, running, running.

She didn't know what time it was. Only that it was late at night or early in the morning. The mud and puddles beneath her splashed as they gave away her location to the many that were chasing the poor girl's body. She was only 10. God had merely thrown her into the whirlwind that took her into the world of drugs, money, sex, and killing. It had only been ten years since she was thrown away.

She didn't know how she had been able to survive on her own for so long but she didn't think it'd be long now. A bullet shot through the air at an unimaginable pace and lodged itself deep into her arm. An ear piercing scream shot through the air as the girl stumbled and her arm went limp. But she kept running.

She had to if she wanted to live.

She had to.

The gunshots increased as the men that chased her realized that she was closer than they thought. There were around 3 of them. They felt a sudden longing for blood, and found their targeted fun walking alone. They began the chase then.

The girl used her unharmed arm to shield her head in a weak attempt to save herself as she ducked down low and ran for her life. Ran like she never did before. The bullets became rain as they hailed at her, one by one, lodging themselves into her body. Her screams lasted long for each one of the bullets, as they slowly brought her down.

The puddles and mud beneath her gave way, her body falling slowly in pain. Once satisfied, the three men that shot her stood around her body, laughing, chuckling, and shot some more until they were satisfied.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the real world.

The light began to leave her eyes while the rain began to pour harder, drowning everything around the girl that slowly began to lose life. Her fingers twitched and her legs moved slightly, but not without a shoot of pain worming its way throughout her whole body. Her moving became slower and her breathing almost non-existent, but she knew what kept her going.

Hope.

That was the only thing that kept her going now. So once again, hope had filled the naïve child's heart as she heard the clacking sounds of high heels, a woman. Young as she was, the ten year old still lived along stereotypes, despite her own living conditions. Women were safer and kinder than men. She had learnt that the hard way. The young ten year old looked up at the passer by that would've almost passed by the alley she was lying in, if it weren't for that small call of help.

The clacking of heels stopped, the pitter-patter on the woman's coat became heavier as she stood still. The woman, the ten year old noticed, was indeed still a teen, perhaps 5 years older, give or take. But no life was seen in the older girl's eyes as she looked down on the poor soul that pleaded for help.

The black high heel boots came to the young woman's calves halfway, a dirty, ruined, beige coat covering most of her body till her knees. Though she was alive and well, her eyes had no life in them. The ten year old moaning on the floor gasped for more breath. She knew her time was up. God was going to take her into his arms. But she couldn't. Not yet. No.

She was too young to die.

She had never experienced the true joys of life.

"Please…" the girl cried on the floor, mud and water dirtying her vision along with a small side of blood. "Help…Please…"

The clacking of the high heeled boots began again as the older girl began to walk away. A desperate, cold hand grasped her ankle, forbidding her movement. Her head whipped back down to the dying girl on the floor. She had hope in her eyes. Yes… Hope… It was still there.

The older girl's eyes turned into slits.

No one in this town should still have that scrap of hope still in them. And yet, she found hope in a dying girl.

"Please!" the girl gasped. Her breathing began to heave in and out, her calls becoming more desperate. The older girl's eyes returned to normal as she realized with satisfaction that hope was finally leaving the naïve girl's eyes. "Help!" The older girl waited for the young, naïve, ten year old to die as she patiently stood there in the down torrent of the rain. She waited till that despicable thing called _hope_ disappeared. The gasping ten year old on the ground was determined, and stubborn however, and the older girl around to be 17 once again slit her eyes.

Damn that cursed hope.

The clutch at her ankle, the older girl noticed, became tighter. The girl on the ground with the skinny boned body and the black drenched hair began to cry. "_Please_!" she cried out. The seventeen-year-old hissed in displeasure, the first sound that the ten year old heard, and jerked her leg out of its tight grasp. The clacking of the high heeled boots resumed again, only, never to stop.

The boots that clacked on the ground never did stop again nearly that alley, as the ten year old lay there to die. She watched her only source of hope walk away. She was dying, 46 bullet holes in total in her non-vital spots, only to torture her with slow death. She was dying, she pleaded for help and yet-

She walked away.

The ten year old began to finally let go of the light in her eyes called hope as she began to cry with the rain.

"Why is god so cruel…?" was the last whisper Rukia heard in the rain before she completely walked away from the dying little one.

**

_All I ever did do was run away…_

_**Walk away.**_

The tears stilled and stopped wavering in the now older girl's eyes as she controlled her breathing and her tears.

No.

She would not cry anymore.

She wasn't in that town anymore.

Not those slums.

She was in _town_. Karakura town. She was in a healthy, clean and sanitized clinic home. She was starting, what she could call, a new life.

Something that she had dreamed of, but never wished for.

No. She knew. She knew exactly.

God was cruel.

He gave nothing to those who asked.

She knew never to wish for anything, for it would never come true. Her prayers would always remain unanswered.

She turned around and was about to help the man that was dislodging the one bullet out, but bolted towards the toilet bowl in pure shock and pain. Her empty stomach relieved itself of purely nothing, but forced it to purge itself clean, until there was purely nothing left. Her small, frail body jolted at each vomit, her body weakening and weakening. After her stomach was satisfied of emptying everything that was practically non-existent, the world turned black, and a surprised male voice shouted out in surprise.

Rukia fell down with hope long lost in her eyes.

_Perhaps this is what it feels like, to die?_

_I would have to ask that girl later… in Hell._

_

* * *

_

**Author's note - **Ahaha, yes, yes people, I LIVE!

After hibernating for possibly not one, but _two_ seasons, I have suddenly become inspired, and started writing again! :D

Lucky me ^^

But yes, I understand it has been a long while, so please don't kill me for this shitty chapter. And I mean no insult to those who are religious, I know all I said just now about God were cruel, but I myself don't believe any of that because I believe strongly in God, so yea.. I felt a little guilty hehe ^^;

But yes, hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I hope that I can upload again soon, I'm just as excited as you guys for next chapter!

**Ruki-chan**


	4. Her condition

The papers and sharp objects around Ichigo made him feel slightly uneasy and edgy as he sat quietly in a chair opposite to his father. His father looked stressed and tired, and Ichigo had noticed with displeasure that the papers littering the office weren't completely work related. As his father let out a shaky breath and rubbed his face thoroughly, Ichigo surveyed the room more.

His father had been over working again.

"Dad-"

"Ichigo…" his father breathed, seemingly more calm now. He entwined his fingers together so his elbows could rest on the table and looked at Ichigo straight into his eyes, his normally happy behaviour all gone. "Ichigo… look me straight in the eye and tell me where did you meet Rukia?" he asked hoarsely, dropping the honorific off her name. Ichigo didn't hesitate.

"I met her at Kyouka Suigetsu." Ichigo jumped slightly in shock when his father let out a half sob half groan, throwing his pen down and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Tears sprung into Isshin's eyes, which alarmed Ichigo but he stayed still. A little strained, but still clear and deep, Isshin continued speaking.

"Son… was she alone?"

Ichigo thought back to when he and Rukia met and nodded his head. The girl had fallen out of nowhere, _literally_.

"Did…did you see the owners of that club? A man with silver hair, or perhaps another with brown, wavy hair?" Ichigo tried to ignore the sharp pitch in his father's tone that showed desperation. Ichigo shook his head and swallowed.

"No dad, I didn't. Look, what is this about? I-"

"I'll tell you those details later son, but I will tell you what matters most now." Isshin took in a deep breath and looked his son straight in the eyes again. "Ichigo…"

"Dad… say it straight out. I'm scared when you become like this," Ichigo said fearfully, no longer the man who put up a tough act to fool everybody, but the young, honest 9 year old he used to be. Isshin looked down for a second before looking at Ichigo again.

"Son… Rukia's dying."

* * *

"Higher Yuzu, higher!" a happy voice cheered as cheerful laughs filled the air. Rukia used her whole body to gain momentum and swing higher. She decided she loved this part of the playground the most.

The swings.

She felt as if for a small moment, for as long as it lasted, that she could fly. She could spread her broken, tattered wings, and escape the grasp of Ichimaru Gin and Aizen Sousuke. She felt that while she swung higher and lower, that nothing else mattered anymore. She could escape and laugh as much as she wanted. She felt what she had never experienced before.

Free.

She finally felt that one feeling that she was practically forbidden from feeling. Her loud and sharp laughs filled the air, embracing everyone with a comforting feel. Karin watched with a small, lopsided smile as she held her soccer ball under her arm. Yuzu laughed along with the cheerful Rukia as the happiness spread like a contagious disease to be caught.

"Oi, Yuzu! I feel like ice cream!" Karin called out suddenly to the pair. Rukia set her feet down deeply in the ground and blinked. Yuzu smiled and brightened up considerately at the mention of ice cream. "Ok!" Rukia remained calm and seated on the swing as the twins began to walk away, but stopped when they realised the older woman wasn't coming.

"Rukia-san...?" Karin called out. Rukia paused and quietly sat down on the swing, her hair blowing in the wind. Though Karin was slightly uncomfortable with the woman, due to her brave clothe shedding before, she still tried to get along with the patient, though she slightly disapproved of the woman's occupation. Her eyes were glittering with a thin layer of tears that begged to be shed but Karin could tell, Rukia had experience in hiding her tears well.

She was well trained in the strangest of areas. But Karin was not one to judge her. Ever since her mother had passed away, she too, had stopped crying. Ironic, she had found something in common with the older prostitute Karin thought. Yuzu ran back to the older woman that remained on the swings and began to tug at her hands.

"Rukia-san, hey, we're going to get some ice cream, aren't you coming?"

**

Rukia shed her coat after entering her new customer's home. It reeked of alcohol and smoke and a strong hint of marijuana. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and strut over to the client, as she had practiced many times before. He was another drunken one. Typical.

"So, how do you want it tonight?" Rukia asked seductively. The man on the floor chuckled and hiccupped at the same time.

"I need you to fuck me," he whispered in what he wanted to call, a seductive tone. Rukia almost puked at the sight but didn't have anything to puke out anyway. She hadn't eaten all day.

She leaned down to the man and began to shed his own jacket as she laced kisses up and down his neck and face. He stopped her, which had shocked her greatly, and he stumbled to the refrigerator.

_Useless piece of shit,_ Rukia deadpanned in her head. _Grabbing another beer, you already smell bad as it is._ But indeed, he had not grabbed another beer bottle, like Rukia predicted, but a tub of something. Rukia raised a brow in question and watched the man from her position on the floor, her sleeve slipping off her shoulder, along with her bra strap. She ran a hair through her messy locks and sighed as she realised he wanted a late night snack before having sex with the prostitute he had just paid.

Rukia rolled her eyes and was about to turn around and stand up until she realised that he had grabbed her around the waist and brought her close to him so he could lightly nip (sink his crooked teeth) on the junction between her shoulder and neck. She masked her scream of pain as a moan of pleasure quite forcibly, as his crooked canine has sought for blood, and found it.

He smiled at his success (failure) and brought what was in his hands a moment ago to the front as he turned her to the front.

"I plan to play with my food tonight, as well as having a double dessert," he whispered. Rukia stared at him questioningly. In his hand, was a tub of ice cream and a spoon. He undressed her and began to spoon amounts of ice cream onto her body. As he proceeded to eat her dessert, Rukia found herself the next morning on the streets knocked unconscious and sticky, as she realised with disgust that he had placed ice cream on her everywhere he could reach.

_Everywhere,_ inside and out.

She picked her body up and then realised why he had paid her early. She looked up at the apartment he owned and scowled. The silhouettes in the house showed that there was another woman, and by the way she naively served him dinner and gave him a kiss on the cheek, she could tell that the man that had just raped her with _food_ was married.

_Never going to last long like that,_ Rukia thought in distaste, wrinkling her nose. She picked up her small, 12 year old body and continued to walk home. The place that she had called hell.

**

"Rukia-san?" Yuzu called again. She tugged once more on the older girl's hands. Yuzu fell back with a surprised 'eep', and stared at the lifeless eyed Rukia. Yuzu turned her body to follow the movements of Rukia as she began to walk home. "Rukia-san? Rukia-san!" Yuzu kept on calling, but the woman walked on. Karin held onto Yuzu's shoulder and shook her head and stared wearily after the girl. She needed some time alone.

* * *

Silence rung in the air and damaged Ichigo's ears as he quietly sat in the bath tub, absorbing the hot warmth that came from the steaming water blanketing him. He silently began to think about the day's events, and what his father told him. True, Rukia _was_ dying, but she was in a healthy and sanitised clinic now, where she was treated with medicines and proper dieting. Ichigo understood however, that if Rukia were to return back there, back to where she used to belong, then she would not last more than three months.

Ichigo slammed his hand down in the water in some sort of way to try and inflict damage on the people that hurt Rukia most. He growled low in his throat and began to imagine ways to tear up the people that did this to Rukia. That threw her into that job. That beat her and raped her every time. Now that Ichigo had a small hint at what was going on in Rukia's life, he wanted to know more. And he had that urge again.

To protect somebody.

He once again slammed his hand down to destroy the water particles below him. He had this urge years ago when he had remembered the time when his mother was still alive. Look what happened to _her_. Ichigo cursed and held his head in his hands. Why was everything so complicated?

The door opened and Ichigo gave out a hoarse shout in surprise, covering himself under the water.

"Jesus Christ Rukia, ever learned how to knock?!" Ichigo yelled in embarrassment. His red face just contrasted against the tan skin that he sported below his neck. She merely stared at him blankly before she closed the toilet seat lid and sat down on it with her face in her hands. Ichigo cautiously looked at her. "Rukia...?"

"Just shut the _fuck_ up! Shut up, _SHUT UP_!!" Rukia suddenly screamed. Ichigo backed away from her as he hid half his head in the tub and stared in shock at her sudden screaming. She began to clear the cupboard under the sink of its contents and cleared all the items with a sweep of her hand, breaking glass and dropping plastics as liquid spilled everywhere.

Her screams began to turn into sobs, her hands raking everything off the shelves in the bathroom as everything fell, shattering, cracking, breaking, and falling apart as the contents of everything came out. Ichigo abruptly stood up and sloshed out of the bath tub as he messily made his way to Rukia to stop her arms from flailing about and breaking everything. He grabbed her wrists and turned her around, looking directly into her eyes.

"RUKIA!" he shouted over her own hysteric screams. "RUKIA! IT'S ME! RUKIA!" She continued to squirm in his grasp and shake him off, screaming while tears sprinted down her face. He looked into her eyes when she began to tire, and she began to cry out loud and pant. "Rukia," Ichigo called out softly. "Rukia, it's me, Rukia, it's ok!" Ichigo soothed. She looked up at him with tear-stricken eyes and a desperate face that called for help, but was too stubborn to admit it.

"I can't stay here Ichigo, I just can't, Ichigo I can't. Don't make me stay here please!" she cried, looking straight into his eyes. Ichigo flinched, his dad's words echoing inside his head again.

"_She wouldn't last 3 months maximum in that world again. Not again Ichigo."_

Ichigo softened his eyes just for her, while he held her arms gently.

"Rukia, you're safe here now, you don't have to run away anymore-"

"I can't stay here Ichigo! I just can't! Nothing is normal here, I can't live here, I can't survive!" _Ironic,_ Ichigo thought in his head. He was afraid to see the serial killer that lived in her eyes cry like this. Her barriers were breaking down, and he knew it was against her own will. He knew she was scarred for life, but what could he do? He did what any man in his place would've done.

He awkwardly pat her shoulder.

As a man, and a respectful one to woman at that, he didn't dare embrace her. No. He couldn't. Against her will, taking her up against his own body was like crime. He couldn't take advantage of this situation and just hug her while she was having a mental breakdown. He just couldn't. It was awkward enough having a strange patient living in their house, but hugging her? Embracing her? Sure he had a 'fun' night with her but he didn't want to kill whatever 'acquaintance' they had left.

Ichigo rubbed her arms up and down as she wiped her tears and cried her heart out, like those lonely nights where she would come home to her actual shitty apartment, and just lay on the bed, tired, payless, moneyless, foodless, and hungry. Except she had someone to comfort her. Though she had someone here to support her, and try to help her survive, she just couldn't feel it.

She couldn't feel the safety that normally came with the man's embrace. Because he wasn't embracing her. She needed someone to hold her, whisper sweet nothings in her ear, tell her everything was alright.

Someone to tell her that she was loved.

**

Air stopped entering his lungs, his body ran cold, and his blood stopped pumping. Ichigo stared at his father with wide and fearful eyes.

"Dad, what are you talking about? Rukia's not actually going to die is she?" Ichigo asked carefully. Isshin sighed and closed his eyes that needed rest.

"Well she will survive if she remains in this clinic, has a few supplements and goes to the hospital regularly, but if she had stayed outside in that world of hers, she would be dead in no time." Ichigo looked shocked.

"So with treatment, she would survive?" Ichigo questioned, desperate to hear an answer that eased his thumping heart. "She will survive with treatment, _right_?" Ichigo asked again. Isshin opened his eyes and once again stared into his son's own.

"Yes, rest assured son, she will survive if she stays with us," he began. He tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose and glanced at the papers around him before once again directing his attention towards Ichigo. "She wouldn't last 3 months maximum in that world again. Not again Ichigo." Ichigo looked down at his tightly clasped knuckles and looked pained, his nose scrunched and his mouth bore in a slight snarl.

"But Ichigo..." Isshin began again. Ichigo nodded to signify he was listening. "That's not the only thing about Rukia." Ichigo's head snapped up in exasperation.

"That's not it?! She's fucking _dying_ dad, and there's _more to it_?!" Ichigo shouted, bolting up from his chair as it fell backwards with a crash. Isshin let out an angry sigh and choked on a sob.

"I wish that was it son, I wish it was that simple."

"Dad, what more could there be? She's already staying here for a few months to recover from her past life, what else could there be to it?"

"Son, she's going to have to stay here for a little longer than that," Isshin began, tears in his eyes. Ichigo stood shock still, staring at the tears that wavered in Isshin's eyes. He had never seen his father cry ever since that day his mother died, and at her funeral. Never, had he seen his father cry again. "Ichigo, there's more to her past life than we know, and one large part of her life, has something to do with the research I'm doing now," Isshin explained, waving an arm around his office to all the office papers and sheets that were half piled in a manila folder.

Ichigo sat down warily in the chair he put back upright again and stared intently at his father.

"But I can't tell you what I found out. I need to be sure of this; even _Rukia_ herself doesn't know this stuff. I need to confirm if what I think is true. But son, I can tell you this much." Ichigo stared straight into his father's eyes, looking for a reason, a lie, the truth, anything, that would lead him to protecting her again. The stranger he had met at a stripper's club.

"She won't be the same anymore Ichigo. She-"

**

"Rukia...?" Ichigo soothed. He rubbed her shoulders up and down. "Have you eaten anything?" he asked gently when her tears began to slow to a stop. She shook her head and took in a deep breath. She looked back up with the same determination that she always held in her eyes and smiled weakly.

"Thanks. Sorry, I just remembered something I didn't want to," she murmured quietly. She calmly strode over to the sink and washed her face. Waiting patiently at the door was Ichigo. She turned around and giggled when he held his hand out for her to hold. He blushed lightly.

"What? Can't I escort a beauty out when I want to?" he said bravely with pink tinting his cheeks. Rukia giggled once more and leaned up to kiss Ichigo on the cheek, shocking him momentarily. He stood still in the same spot while she walked over to the door and opened it, heading out. Just before she shut the door she turned her head and looked over to where the dunce was blankly staring ahead.

"I know I'm fine with it, but don't you think your _sisters_ might have a slight problem?" she said in a light tone. She shut the door with a small laugh which confused Ichigo. He then realised that something didn't quite add up. Ichigo turned around to look at the bath tub and then down at his own body. His face heated up to the brightest shade of red as he shouted out in horror and embarrassment.

He had also forgotten his towel.

* * *

Yuzu and Karin had returned home and remained cautious around Rukia in case she needed another session of alone time. Yuzu headed to the kitchen first before starting to prepare dinner and dessert at the same time while Karin sat down to watch TV. Ichigo came down the stairs _dressed_ and scanned the room for any sign of Rukia. He walked into the kitchen, attracted to the lovely scent of food.

He entered the kitchen and watched Yuzu and Rukia playfully flick flour at each other. Their laughs filled the kitchen and made a smile on Ichigo's face. Ichigo noticed a spare bag of flour on the kitchen counter near him. He smirked and deftly made his way towards the paper bag, ripped the top open, and held it at its sides as he went wild and threw it side to side at the girls.

Their screams and laughter increased as they realised another enemy entered home base. The two girls squealed while Ichigo chased after them with a jug of water in his hand, Rukia ready with a carton of eggs and Yuzu holding a carton of milk.

And so begins the food fight.

Rukia ducked behind the counter top in the middle of the kitchen while Yuzu hid in the small space between the cupboards and countertop, hiding behind the large, bulking figure of the fridge. Ichigo stood there in plain sight, waiting for any sign of the girls with a bag of sugar now. At the same time, Yuzu and Rukia emerged with eggs and began to egg Ichigo while he charged forward with a grin and covered the two sweet girls in sugar. Yuzu squealed while Rukia laughed out loud and egged him right on the head.

He grabbed each girl in each arm and held them high. They both clung to each other and his orange, sticky head, squealing and laughing. Rukia kicked him in the stomach and began to stumble backwards, whereas Yuzu landed on the counter. In the midst of her fun, Rukia stumbled back and slipped on some eggs and flour on the floor. Her eyes gave into shock as she landed heavily on her butt. Ichigo immediately stopped laughing and bent down to Rukia.

"Rukia, Rukia, are you ok? Are you seriously injured?" he asked worriedly, checking all over her body for injuries. Rukia chuckled and dusted the flour off of her clothes.

"Ichigo, chill, I just fell, I'm not going to die."

_If only you knew_, Ichigo thought.

"Besides, what harm could come to me? I'm perfectly fine. No need to worry. Everyone falls down every once in a while," she chuckled. Yuzu giggled as she stood over the couple.

"Yea nii-chan, she's perfectly fine! I think you're just exaggerating. Are you that worried?" she giggled. But Rukia could see in his eyes, though he smiled, that he was still purely worried. His eyes showed the pure worry that lay there, that there was something else he was not telling Rukia. Rukia stared at him in slight question but he turned away and began to help Yuzu clean the mess. As Rukia stood up, a small wave of nausea and tiredness overcame her, making her feel dizzy in the head.

She gripped onto the counter for support and tightened her grip on it, afraid if she pressed less force against it, then she would fall. She masked her actions by grabbing a dish cloth and wiping the table down. Karin entered the kitchen and yelled out.

"Whoa! Looks like we're ordering out tonight!" she exclaimed. Yuzu chuckled nervously, the mop in her hands cleaning the floor. Rukia excused herself and quickly trot up the stairs, but everyone could see how pale she looked. Yuzu and Karin wearily exchanged looks while Ichigo carefully went after her.

"_If this keeps up Ichigo, she's going to lose her job and her life. She has to stay with someone I'm afraid. She's in too much of a fragile condition as it is."_

Ichigo carefully trod up the steps and called out gently.

"Rukia..? Rukia?" He looked at his own room he shared with Rukia, and when he saw she wasn't there resting, he heard a retching noise from the bathroom. _Not again!_ Ichigo panicked. He sprinted towards the door and watched in horror as Rukia began to throw away all contents of her stomach again. Ichigo walked over and held her hair out of her face as a small attempt to help the poor girl. He looked down to possibly observe the food that she had eaten just now, but stared in angry question when all that came out was water.

Saliva and stomach acids came out in a rush, her throat choking with the force. Ichigo looked down at the girl and stared as he held her hair, brushing a few pieces back, thought the sight was enough to make him feel nauseous.

"_Rukia-chan? I brought lunch to your room!"_

Yes... he was sure. He was sure Yuzu brought food to Rukia's room. He saw her knock on the door and she definitely gave her the tray. After he was sure Rukia wasn't throwing up anymore, and was panting for breath, he had silently walked out for a moment and checked his room. His eyes scanned the room and looked around suspiciously. He checked under the desk, under the bed, in the closet, and turned his whole room upside down.

She did eat just recently, so she should have had some food in her stomach. That is, _if_ she ate lunch. Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he was just over reacting to her condition. Yea... he was just over reacting.

He wished he was.

He walked back to the bathroom to check on Rukia and noticed that she was leaning against the toilet lid which was now closed. Her breathing was slowly calming to a normal pace and her face was pale with sweat. She had already fainted yesterday, and just woken up this morning.

"Rukia... come on, let's eat dinner. I heard dad come back with food. Maybe we should get some food into your system..." Ichigo said gently. Rukia's tired eyes opened, the sweat on her face glistening. She looked at him tiredly and shook her head. His eyes softened as he bent down to Rukia's level and began to speak again. "Rukia, you have to eat something. I don't know where, but you hide your food and tell us you've been eating." Ichigo's eyes widened as he remembered his father's words.

"_Yes, rest assured son, she will survive if she stays with us."_

Rukia weakly pushed him away, or rather attempted to and shook her head again, still lightly panting.

"No..." she rasped, gently beating at his chest. He held her hand and looked her in the eyes. There were bags under her amethyst eyes.

"Rukia!" he called out in exasperation. "I'm here now. It's ok. I'll look after you." _You and whatever comes at us in the future._ She searched his eyes to find any trace of a lie. She shook her head once again and stood up shakily, practically holding onto anything she could grab for support. Say, the towel rack for instance.

"No," Rukia rasped once again, hanging onto the door before stumbling out and leaning against the wall.

"Rukia-!"

"NO!" Rukia shouted hoarsely. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "No. You can't. A family like this, that feeds me daily, cooks for me, cleans for me, laughs with me, has fun with me, a family this nice shouldn't exist!" she began to sob. Isshin, Karin and Yuzu began to head up the stairs to find the two, but paused at the bottom and listened to the sobs they could hear.

Ichigo raised his hand to try and console her.

"Rukia, what-"

"Don't!" she shouted. Ichigo lowered his hand.

"I learned. So very long ago, I learned. God is cruel. He is never kind. He looks into your heart's deepest desires, and puts all his power into preventing it from happening. He stops you from wishing, he never answers your prayers. I know, because I am the living proof of this!" she shouted. Ichigo remained calm and stared at Rukia, letting her know he was listening.

"I learned. I knew. I know now, that those things that people talk of, those things called fairy tales, they don't exist! Ok?! They don't! Those princes that arrive on white horses to save the damsel in distress, they're just stories, things that don't ever come true! They. Just. Don't. Exist!!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face, hands beating wildly at Ichigo's chest at each word in her last sentence. He was about to hold her close and embrace her, comfort her like a man should, but she shielded her heart and pushed him away.

"Rukia-"

"Don't hold me! Don't try to save me! Don't even bother trying to help me, it won't work!" she cried out. Isshin, Karin and Yuzu peeked behind the wall, sad at the poor girl's actions. She began to sob into her hands, clenched into fists and braced at the corner of her eyes, she cried.

"So why?! Why am I pampered like this?! Why am I given a chance to live in a new home and a new family?! Why am I given a chance to live normally, like any other woman that lives in this town?! Why am I suddenly _loved_?!" she wailed, still crying into her fists. Ichigo stood there, speechless at the girl. She didn't want to be loved. She _needed_ to be, but she didn't want to be. She wanted so much, and yet, she forced herself to have so little. Living the life of a prostitute in the slums, she had forced herself to believe lies that she grew up with.

But Ichigo knew she deserved better.

"Why?" Rukia whispered over and over again like a mantra. "Why?" Her eyes widened when she let her guard down, and felt two large arms wrap around her body, keeping her close to a warm source of heat known as Ichigo. She remained stiff, and still. He had decided to go against his own instinct not to hug her and just go straight out with it.

She needed him right now.

"Because, even though he arrived late on his white horse," Ichigo began, "he finally came, to save the princess that needed saving." Rukia stiffened, her eyes widening. "Your prince has come Rukia. Now let him save you," he said soothingly, rubbing her back and arms.

Isshin felt his heart break at Ichigo's words, whereas Yuzu began to silently weep into Karin's shoulders, the black haired girl watched with a sad sympathy, and also a strong will to cry. Rukia began to cry out loud again, clutching Ichigo's shirt this time in a desperate attempt to keep her prince there, and live a happy ending like those fairytales she had heard of. Those sweet little lives they lived happily in, their flawless lives carved along a road of perfection.

She wanted that happy ending.

But she knew it wasn't meant to be.

* * *

"Welcome my lovely family, to the very first _complete_ Kurosaki family dinner!!" Isshin called loudly, acting as if he never heard Rukia and Ichigo's sob-fest upstairs. Karin rolled her eyes with a small smile and Yuzu scolded her father for having such a blunt reaction. The five occupants sat at the dining table. "What?!" he wailed. "This is the first time we're having a family dinner with the _whole_ family!" Ichigo raised a brow in mock boredom whereas Rukia stared in confusion.

"Oji-sama-"

"Call me otou-chan now Rukia," Isshin said wiggling his eyebrows. Rukia cleared her throat.

"Ah... well... what do you mean by those words?"

"What words?"

"Those words you said just now."

"My goodness, aren't you Japanese? Otou-chan means-"

"No, not that, I meant the dinner," Rukia said in exasperation. This man could be dense. Just like his son.

"OH! Well, this is the first time you're eating with us right Rukia? You always had us bring trays to your room. You never chose to eat with us. But now, as you walk down the steps to the dining room, holding my _son's_ hand," Ichigo blushed at this while Rukia remained neutral, "and, you join us for dinner. Therefore, we are complete!" he said proudly. Rukia stared in awe. She was actually accepted into this family?

She looked over to Yuzu. She smiled brightly at Rukia with warm love in her eyes. Like a mother. When Rukia looked over to Karin, she smirked and shrugged her shoulders. Rukia looked at Ichigo with a thin layer of tears in her eyes. He smiled warmly at her and held her hand under the table.

Once again, with some sort of magic spell God had cast on this family-

She felt loved.

Everyone began to clap their hands together except Rukia, and muttered ittadakimasu. The fried rice before Rukia tempted her to eat, but she looked warily at her plate. Whatever she ate now, her stomach rejected it, so she subjected herself to only drinking water in Ichigo's room while she threw the food outside in the downstairs garbage can so no one would find it. Isshin noticed Rukia was merely picking at her food and observed her with a sharp doctor's eye. She had less sleep than usual, he could tell she was a light sleeper, and she seemed to be losing weight fast.

"Son," Isshin whispered to Ichigo. He looked over to his father and raised a brow, indicating that he was listening. Isshin leaned over and spoke quietly with Ichigo to avoid Rukia's trained ears hearing them. "Has Rukia been eating or sleeping well?" Isshin whispered. Ichigo glanced at Rukia and whispered back.

"She's been avoiding her meals, and late at night, I hear her toss and turn. She's a light sleeper, and she always takes late night walks when she thinks everyone's asleep. She comes back at dawn before anyone knows." Isshin raised a brow. Now, how did his son know all this again? Isshin sighed and leaned closer to his son.

"Ichigo, all the things she's been doing, does she even know that this is not helping her condition?" Ichigo paled at those words.

"Dad..." he began. He swallowed and looked over at Rukia that was talking to Yuzu and Karin. "She doesn't know." Isshin's eyes widened.

"Ichigo," he hissed. "You have to tell her! She has the biggest right to know!" Ichigo closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

"I know dad, I know. I just don't know how to tell her! I don't exactly do this everyday, go straight to a patient's face and tell them that they have-"

"Ichigo. You are very aware that she _will_ find out later on. She must know Ichigo. She has to. Every day she looks worse and worse, and that will affect her in the future. Especially since she has to lose her job for this!"

"Dad-"

"She must know Ichigo," he said bluntly. "Look at her. Look at her, and then tell me straight in the eyes, she is doing well." Ichigo looked over to the frail woman and noticed that she really did look terrible. Ichigo looked over to his father.

"But dad," he began. "She can't lose her job, she needs it! She hasn't been educated dad. She can't get a good occupation. She has no life here so-"

"So you're telling her to go back?!" Isshin whispered furiously. He looked over to Rukia and paled. Ichigo looked at his dad's expression in question and looked beside himself to a very silent Rukia. She stared at the two, a sad face taking over the giggles she was sharing with Yuzu and Karin before. She stood up and looked away from the two men.

"Excuse me," she murmured before walking away from the scene. Ichigo grabbed a tray from the cupboard and stacked Rukia's fried rice and pork chops onto it, along with a glass of water. He grabbed it and began to walk up the steps.

"Rukia!" he called out. The dining table was silent. Isshin looked away from the direction his son disappeared to, and looked at his two daughters. They looked at him with sad eyes, knowing that he was hiding something from them.

"Dad, what's wrong with Rukia?" Karin asked. Yuzu had a silent plea for him to tell them. "You've been hiding something from all of us dad, we know. What's wrong with her?" Isshin sighed loudly and rubbed his nose, shaking his head side to side.

"I really wish I could fix this," he began. He looked back to the twins that grew up to be so beautiful from the naive 11 year olds they were before. "Yuzu, Karin, we have to take extra care of Rukia, possibly for a very long time." Yuzu stared at her father sadly while Karin's eyes had squinted slightly.

"Girls, Rukia, is in a very delicate condition right now-"

"Yea, yea, we heard all that shit just now with Ichigo. What's wrong with her?!" Isshin flinched lightly at the fact that everyone heard their conversation.

"Girls... Rukia has-"

* * *

"Come on Rukia, open the door," Ichigo pleaded in exasperation. "Rukia!"

"Fuck you!" she shouted from inside, her voice muffled by the locked door between them. Ichigo balanced the tray in one hand and knocked on the door.

"Come on Rukia, open up! You need to eat!"

"No I don't!" came the muffled reply. Ichigo sighed in exasperation, something he found himself doing a lot lately.

"Rukia! I have... I have something to tell you."

"No. If it's a love confession, I REJECT!" she screamed from inside. Ichigo's flinched slightly at her harsh words. Though he wasn't in love, it was obvious he felt slightly attracted to her. Looks like she felt the total opposite.

"Rukia, it's nothing like that, you have to know this."

"What is so urgent that you have to observe my whole life here?!" Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and looked down at the floor.

_She will lose her job._

_She will lose her life there._

_She will lose everything._

"Rukia," he called out urgently. "Please. We have to talk." He waited in silence for what seemed to be around 5 minutes or 10, and then sighed in relief when he finally heard the lock click. He opened the door slowly and entered to find Rukia sitting on her bed with her legs tucked up and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"What is it Ichigo, what's so urgent you have to tell me?" she asked in a monotone. Her eyes were cold with barely any life. Ichigo set the tray next to her small body and sat down in front of her, holding her hand. She tugged away from his large fingers and stared at his face. He looked at Rukia and closed his eyes.

_Everything._

_She will lose everything. _

_We have to look after her._

_Protect her._

Rukia stared at his face that seemed reluctant to tell her.

"Ichigo, what-"

"Rukia, promise me you won't freak out. Promise me you won't go around shooting this house down. Promise me you will stay safe." He looked into her eyes and looked deep. She stared at him and scoffed with a bitter smile on her face. She looked back, no traces of a smile left.

"Ichigo, what the fuck is wrong with you?" He held her arms now that she sat normally and sighed once again.

"You're pregnant."

Though he expected it, he never was prepared for the tray of food to be thrown across the room, accompanied with the screams and running tears of Rukia.

Her life was over now.

* * *

**Author's Note -**

Haha, I am quite proud of myself :D

After uploading WAFTT chap. 3, i was still really inspired to write this straight after, so I did :)

16 pages of this whole 'condition' thing. Haha, did you guys know she was pregnant? I really tried to hide the fact with lots of words, but I think her endless vomiting made it easy to guess. ^^;

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

**Ruki-chan**


	5. My Baby

I warn you, this chapter has content that someone with a weak stomach would not be able to handle. Near the end, there was a part that i was so scared of typing, i didnt add detail, but i think it had detail enough. I shook as i typed the words. Please, I warn you.

* * *

The constant beeping of the heart monitor across him comforted him, soothed his bunched up nerves, and it told him the girl that he was holding hands with was still alive. Her heavy breathing gave away the fact that she was long lost to dreamland, the calm look on her face no different. Her chest rose in beat with the beep, a steady rhythm that reminded Ichigo Rukia was still well and alive.

After she had found out she was pregnant, she began to go into hysterics until Isshin decided to intervene and inject her with a medical drug that made you go to sleep. She was terrified but Ichigo held her down, saying soothing words to her, but it made no effort. She kicked, screamed, punched and cried for the whole hour Isshin had tried to inject the medicine. When she was finally out cold, Ichigo picked her body up tenderly and announced he was going to go to work. Isshin at first refused, but when Ichigo said they also needed to check up on the baby, he had reluctantly agreed to let his son go while Isshin stayed to take care of the twins.

Now, the orange haired doctor sat beside her bed, holding her lifeless, warm hand in an attempt to console himself. He stared down at her peaceful face and chased the thought of her being dead away. Ichigo warily asked his father would Rukia be alright, taking anaesthetic and all since she was pregnant. Isshin looked hesitant in answering but Ichigo already knew the answer.

**

"Why did you give it to her dad?! You were the first one to _know_ she was pregnant and you gave her something that would harm the baby?!"

"It _is_ pregnant safe Ichigo, it's just... her baby has been through a lot, and may not have the needed requirements to be a healthy baby. It was an instant reaction Ichigo, it was the only thing we could give to make her calm. Whenever she is distressed, the baby is too!"

"The baby must have white hair by now then," Ichigo chuckled bitterly. He looked down into the pale beauty's face and noticed the sickly yellow sheen of colour that began to rise from her pale skin, and the sweat drops that beaded her face. He lightly ghosted his lips over her forehead and closed his eyes, letting the moment last. Isshin headed downstairs after giving the pair a sad smile and started the car for Ichigo.

**

"Kurosaki-sensei?" a quiet voice called. Ichigo looked over to Kotetsu Isane, the head doctor's assistant. She was a kind-hearted nurse that never took breaks and walked around the hospital looking for anyone she could help. Ichigo smiled weakly at the older woman that was his senior by two years and quietly greeted her.

"Hey Kotetsu-san, what is it?" She smiled at the man that came in through the staff only door at 11 pm and looked at the clipboard in her hands.

"I just wanted to ask of her origin, her basics like her birth date, birth place, where she lives-"

"Why?" Ichigo choked out. Isane looked at him with widened eyes.

"J-just because, we-we don't have any records of a Rukia-"

"Could you please, fill those out later?" Ichigo said quietly, his hair shadowing his eyes from Isane's gentle gaze. He raised his eyes and showed her the glittering amber that was on the brink of tears. "We... There are a few things this patient has to fix up. I'll fill them out later..." Isane nodded and swallowed loudly.

"Ah, well we also have some information on her health..."

"It's not looking so good is it," Ichigo murmured, clasping Rukia's hand tighter. Isane bit her lip and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. She will have to do many things to recover fully like a normal human her age should function. She might also have to enter the rehabilitation program, where-"

"What?!" Ichigo gasped. "Why there?! The rehabilitation centre was built for disabled and the failing at movement patients, why does Rukia have to go there?" he panicked. Was her condition really that bad?

"Kurosaki-sensei, calm down. It also has a special unit for pregnant women in how to look after their bodies, and some breathing exercises for labour. It is just a small program she can participate in, but Unohana-sensei and I think it might be compulsory for her, since her body is in such bad shape. It will help her greatly."

Ichigo let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you Isane, what else is there you have found out?"

"Well... she has a check up with Unohana-sensei tomorrow morning at 10, she must not eat anything before then, and she is going through an ultrasound. We must see how far along the baby is, and how it is progressing. Oh! And could you please make sure she eats all her meals? She is not eating much and her baby may starve."

"But whenever she tries to eat something, it comes back out," Ichigo said tiredly. Isane smiled at him.

"Don't worry, this is a common thing to happen when a woman is pregnant," Isane said lightly.

"Seems like women suffer through a lot eh?" Ichigo chuckled non-humorously, a small attempt at lightening the atmosphere. Isane smiled and looked out the window up where the sky was clear.

"It was God's intention to give women and men these jobs, so we must fill them out as our own responsibilities," she said quietly. Ichigo looked at Rukia and remembered her words about God.

_He looks into your heart's deepest desires and puts all his power into preventing it from happening!_

"So tomorrow at ten o' clock is her appointment?" Ichigo asked one more time. Isane nodded.

"Please make sure she attends the appointment Kurosaki-sensei," Isane said gently. Ichigo smiled weakly. "And if she tries to reject the food again, try to make her lie down when she feels it's coming out, and rub her throat and stomach in an upwards and downwards motion." Ichigo nodded before Isane quietly slipped out of the room. He looked back down at the distressed Rukia and brought her knuckles to his lips, where he kissed her gently.

"Please be better Rukia... for the sake of your child at least..." he whispered hotly against her knuckles. Her eyes fluttered underneath their lids and her fingers twitched at the warmth. Ichigo's breath hitched in his throat, his body waiting stiffly for her to wake up. She shifted in her sleep unconsciously, turning towards Ichigo's source of warmth. He watched her eyes flutter again before she fell asleep peacefully.

The bullet just flew by his head in a blur, denting the wall behind him. Ichigo swore loudly and stood up.

"Hm... accuracy is 100%, determined to kill a person in one shot, and, it was specially hand made... nice..." a man muttered at the door. Ichigo glared at him.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing Ishida?!" he whispered loudly. Uryuu chuckled and walked over showing him the gun. Ichigo's eyes widened in familiarity.

"That's-!"

"I found this in a thigh holster on her left leg. We could put her into custody Kurosaki-"

"NO!" Ichigo shouted. Uryuu stood by the bed with a disapproving look.

"Kurosaki, regardless if you have feelings of the woman or not, we have to turn her into the-" The trigger at the back of the gun clicked and Uryuu found himself suddenly in a chokehold against the wall as the woman he spoke of deftly stole the gun from him and pressed it to his forehead.

"I will personally take care of you and haunt your generation and family to come for years if you hand me in." Terrified blue eyes nodded hastily and gasped for breath as the young woman let go of his neck and glared down at his slouched figure. Uryuu noticed her eyes were cold and dead. She turned her head and observed her surroundings. Her eyes widened and she flung her body towards Ichigo and began to strangle him.

Literally.

"F-FUCK!" Ichigo screamed hoarsely. "STUFF THE HOSPITAL ISHIDA, CALL THE FUCKING MENTAL ASYLUM!!"

"HOW DARE YOU BRING ME HERE?!" she screamed with equal volume. Uryuu grabbed Rukia's arms and held her back from him. His elbows were held up as he held her arms back at the side of her head. She flicked her gaze over to Uryuu and gave a cold glare and jabbed him in his ribs, somehow maneuvering there. He gasped in pain and let go, letting Rukia get another chance to pack a hell of a punch onto Ichigo's face.

Uryuu fell back against the bed and watched the two fight in horror. And _much_ to his horror, he realized that Kurosaki was fighting _back_! He grabbed a large chunk of her hair and began to bang it against the wall beside him. She screamed in pain and dug her nails into his neck, a tender spot that began to bleed almost immediately. It was _his _turn to scream in pain. Uryuu was shocked and horrified to the point that he couldn't move. He really couldn't believe it.

Rukia. No last name. Just Rukia, a small patient that looked fragile and innocent, was bashing up a guy much larger than her. Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo, was bashing up a woman. A _woman_!! He had never ever _yelled_ at one, and here he was, bashing her head into the wall by dragging her hair back and forth.

The fight began more serious when Uryuu noticed blood was running down the side the woman's head. Wait, wait, wait.

_**Wasn't the woman PREGNANT?!**_

Uryuu was about to jump in and separate the two until he noticed that the fight moved now, and Ichigo was having his head bashed into the corner of the sharp metal table. Ooh… double the blood that Rukia had running down. He strangled her and she had one hand scratching and making his hands bleed at her neck while her other hand sought for more blood, thrashing Ichigo's head around and hitting it against anything, _everything_.

Uryuu finally decided to intervene when he realized she was reaching for the gun that was a few inches away from her.

"NO!" he yelled before stepping on her hand accidentally while it had the gun. Her fingers that were tangled in the piece of metal and stepped on sent a jab of pain towards her. She screamed and desperately tried to get her hand and the gun out of the man's foot. Uryuu had no idea what to do, until he felt he was dragged down to the ground when Ichigo mistook Uryuu as Rukia.

Nurses and doctors rushed in at the sound of the commotion, and gasped when they realized two of their top doctors were bashing up a pregnant woman with-

Was that a _gun_ in her hand?!

* * *

"Thish ish absholute bullshit," a pissed off Ichigo muttered.

"I'm not enjoying thish either Kuroshaki…" a rather pissed off Uryuu murmured.

"And you think _I_ am?!" a furious Ishida Ryuuken shouted.

Ichigo had bandages wrapped around his head and holding an icepack to the side of his face where his black jaw rested. Uryuu had bandages wrapped around his head, left leg, a cotton patch on his left eye, and a shattered glasses lens where the cotton patch was. He also had an icepack on his cheek.

"Look, doc-"

"No, don't _look_ me Kurosaki," the older man with white hair spat. "You two, are disappointingly two of the best doctors around in this hospital, and what was this _shit_ I hear about you two beating up a pregnant lady?!"

"She'sh the fucking she-devil!"

"She had a fucking gun-!"

"DON'T GIVE ME MORE BULLSHIT!" he roared. The two men remained silent, fuming silently in their seats.

"Do you know how much trouble you two are in?! Lately, Kurosaki, you have been skating on thin ice, not going to work as often as you should be-"

"Yea Kuroshaki, I had to take your shtupid shifts, you idiot-"

"You shut up Uryuu!" his father silenced him. Uryuu remained quiet. "And what's this? First day back, and we hear patients complaining about some _bloodshed _in the next room?!"

"She shtarted thish whole thing!"

"STOP ACTING LIKE A 5 YEAR OLD!!" he screamed again. Ichigo remained silent while Uryuu snickered. Just for that, his father kicked his bandaged leg. Uryuu bit his lip and resumed his silent be-a-good-boy position. "Honestly, I cannot believe this. Two of our best doctors, and now you've brought our whole reputation down. This is unbelievable-"

"YOU SHTAY IN A FUCKING ROOM WITH HER FOR FIVE MINUTESH AND COME OUT WITH NO BRUISHESH, GO ON!" Ichigo screamed, his speech slurred. The head doctor and director of the hospital stood up and marched over, opening the door for the two.

"OUT OF MY OFFICE! I have had _enough_ of you two, consider yourselves docked one month's paycheck!" Ichigo and Uryuu stormed out. They both wobbled down the hallway, attracting a lot of attention from the other employees.

"Thish ish your fault Kuroshaki. You jusht had to be shtupid enough to make her angry," Ishida hissed, punching Kurosaki in the arm. Ichigo retaliated and punched his arm back, making him stumble over to the wall.

"Shut up shit head. You got a shucker punch too."

"You shuck Kuroshaki."

Ichigo kicked Uryuu's leg and made him fall. Uryuu yelped and fell to the ground. Ichigo smiled but began to fall to the ground in pain, repeating the same syllable 'ah' over and over again in pain.

"What the hell ish wrong with you, Kuroshaki?" Uryuu asked, nursing his legs as he stared at his partner in pain on the floor.

"I SHMILED! I SHMILED! I SHMILED AND IT HURTSH LIKE SHIT!" he shouted. Uryuu began to laugh before he too began to 'yelp' in pain as well.

"MY CHEEKSH! MY CHEEKSH!"

Employees watched strangely as the two men on the ground rolled around in pain.

* * *

"Wow… I beat the shit outta you guys good!" Rukia chuckled. Uryuu and Ichigo glared at her. She escaped with bandages around her head too, and purple-blue bruises in the shape of hands around her neck.

"You and your fucking tempter tantrumsh, bitch!" Ichigo shouted, pointing at her. She blinked twice before cracking up laughing.

"Haha-ha, haha, ahaha, sh-shorry! AHAHAHAHAHA!" she imitated. The two men growled.

"Fucking don't act like you're pregnant," Ichigo growled before her laughing had stopped and she whipped the fucking pistol outta no where and aimed it at them, cocking the hammer back and ready to shoot. They scampered out of the room in 3 bullet shots and slammed the door, sloppily falling down onto two of the three waiting chairs outside the room. They panted and looked up at the shadow towering over them.

"So pathetic," Ryuuken spat. Uryuu and Ichigo glared. The head director headed in and closed the door behind him, calm and silent. He looked at the patient on the bed that was watching the sun set peacefully, a bandage around her head and strangle marks around her neck. He coughed lightly to get her attention. She turned her head towards the stranger and raised a brow.

_Now he definitely looks familiar_, Rukia thought nostalgically. She shook her head at the thought and spoke.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"Well, it is to my understanding that you are the woman that supposedly _beat_ up my two best fighters and doctors, correct?" he asked in a monotone. His eyes widened slightly when the woman smirked.

"That is correct. I am the one that kicked their asses."

"I'm sorry but I find that-"

"Hard to believe?" she spat. "Don't tell me you're one of those typical stereotypes who go around judging every woman with stereotypes." Silence rang in the room, the red light of the dying sun reflecting onto his glasses.

"Well I believe, truthfully, I am. A woman like you couldn't possibly have-"

He was never prepared for that right hook she sent his way.

* * *

He exited the room and sat next to his lousy son and his lousy friend's lousy son. He looked at the two and looked away angrily. The two were about to burst out laughing. Ishida Ryuuken, the mighty I-can-do-anything doctor, left the room with a bruised jaw _and_ cheek.

"Shtupid shit headsh."

Though it hurt like hell, the two couldn't hold in their laughter, rolling on the floor with tears in their eyes for pain and laughter.

* * *

Ichigo bustled around with a now less-swollen jaw, and a no-longer-hindered-by-a-lisp voice. He swallowed his cup of instant coffee and walked over to the room he dreaded seeing. Yesterday, in the morning while she was asleep, she was frail. She was a woman. A small, fragile, pregnant and unhealthy woman. A woman he was going to protect. All of _that_ went down the fucking drain however, when she woke up and started bashing the shit out of him. She ignited a fire in him that no one else could ignite. He didn't know if that was a good thing, but if they were to continue their relationship like this, Ichigo wouldn't have any bones left by the end of the year.

He walked over and took a deep breath in front of her door. How was he going to break it to her? Well it wasn't anything much, but, she didn't exactly take the pregnancy too well either. So if he were to enter saying, 'oi Rukia, you have an ultrasound appointment to go to,' she would not take well.

He took a deep breath and guided his shaking hand to the sliding door. He was about to pull until he pulled away, shaking his head. He breathed in again and put his hand to the mouse pad one more time. He stepped back away from the door.

_How the hell am I supposed to tell her?! She'll beat the shit outta me!_

A passing nurse noticed his hesitation and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ah… Kurosaki-sensei? Do you need any… help?" the nurse asked worriedly. Ichigo turned around and jumped slightly.

"AH! Oh, it's just you Tsukibishi, you scared me. Nah, I'm right." The nurse nodded and walked away. Ichigo took in a deep breath and opened the door. He opened his tightly closed eyes, expecting a bullet shot, but nothing came…

Because nothing was there.

"FUCK!"

Ichigo ran through the whole hospital like a madman with a speed that was practically flying through the air and screamed Rukia's name over and over again. Patients jumped at the yelling and awoke from the voice as few employees glared and some looked at him with worry.

"What are you screaming about _now_ Kurosaki?!" Uryuu yelled at him. Ichigo panted for breath while holding Uryuu's shoulders.

"Where, where the fuck is Rukia?!" he wheezed.

"WHAT?! You _lost_ her?!" he shouted at the wheezing man. Ichigo slapped Uryuu tiredly and asked once more.

"Where the fuck is she?"

"She was your responsibility Kurosaki! How could you lose her?! She has a bloody _gun_!!"

"I am well aware, since she shot me in the shoulder once!" Ichigo began to yell. Ryuuken stormed over to the corridor and rolled his eyes when he realized it was _those_ two again.

"Oh for the love of- YOU TWO AGAIN! WHAT NOW!?" he screamed. Ichigo and Uryuu turned to him and shouted at the exact same time-

"WE LOST RUKIA!"

'Fuck', was the only word they heard that left Ryuuken's lips as he ran down the corridors shouting her name too. Who knows what a dangerous pregnant lady with a gun could do. The three men ran around the 28 floors of the hospital and still couldn't find her.

"Rukia?"

"Rukia!"

"Rukia?!"

"RUKIA!"

"RUKIA!!!"

"RUKIA!!!!!"

Panting, Ichigo gasped for breath, lungs burning and head spinning. Why did this hospital have so many fucking floors and rooms!? He leaned against the wall and quickly dialed the Kurosaki clinic number.

"Hello, this is the Kurosaki clinic residence, how may we-"

"Yuzu!" Ichigo practically shouted into the phone, still rushing up and down the corridors. "Change to dad, quick!" Yuzu called for her father quickly, the shuffling of her bear slippers heard in the background. Ichigo's eyes scanned the whole place quickly and then stood still with his fist against the wall when he heard his father's voice.

"Hello, Kurosaki Isshin, can I be of any assist-"

"Dad! Cut the crap, is Rukia there?!"

"What? Ichigo? What's wrong? Isn't Rukia-"

"We lost her and she's gone loose somewhere in this fucking town with a gun. We don't know if she left the hospital or not. Can you check if she's at home?" Ichigo said hurriedly. Isshin nodded though Ichigo couldn't see and turned around to the girls that heard their brother. They began to search the top floor of the house, Isshin, Karin and Yuzu on a four-way conversation with Ichigo on the two other home phones.

"Ichi-nii, what happened?" came the worried voice of Karin.

"Godammit, the woman escaped from her baby check up and she's running around loose somewhere with a gun."

"Nii-chan, weren't you meant to look after her?" came the light, scolding tone of Yuzu.

"This isn't the time Yuzu," Ichigo spat gently, pacing up the halls.

"I can't find anything in my room or the bathroom," Isshin stated.

"Yea, she's not in my room Ichi-nii," Karin said bluntly.

"She's not in your room either nii-chan," Yuzu murmured. Ichigo swore and took the flight of steps that went to the next level down.

"Girls, let's check the downstairs floor."

"Hai!" came the twin replies of Karin and Yuzu. Ichigo was glad his family was looking just as hard as he was.

"Ichigo, are you sure she hasn't hidden in anything like a closet?"

"Any other small rooms or cleaning facilities whatever are locked and you need a key card to open them," he answered in a rush, poking his head into a room every now and then.

"AAAAAHHHH!!!!"

"YUZU!" Karin shouted. Yuzu's line went dead. Ichigo's blood ran cold as he stood shock still, eyes wide with fear, trying to listen to what happened. There was storming coming from both father and sister as they rushed to where the scream came from.

"OH MY GOD!" Karin screamed. Isshin bellowed next.

"PUT THE KNIFE DOWN RUKIA!"

The line went dead.

Ichigo wasted no time as he sped down the flights of steps by skipping most of them and bashing against the walls to keep balance to reach the car park. He unlocked his car with a 'beep' and bolted into his black sedan, jamming the key in the ignition and turning the car on. He revved the engine and quickly dialed Uryuu, putting the phone on speaker and chucking it onto the passenger seat, not trusting his shaking hands right now. The phone barely rang before Uryuu picked up.

"Please tell me you've found her," Uryuu pleaded through the phone, panting and running. Ichigo swallowed before answering.

"Uh, yeah, I did… kind of…"

"That's great!" Uryuu panted, his steps coming to a stop. "Bring her back to her proper ward, and all will be good Kurosaki." Both men on the phone were unnerved by the silence that followed.

"About that…" Ichigo murmured.

"What? I can't hear you, am I on speaker? Kurosaki, where is she and where are _you_?"

"Stop looking we've found her, I'll fill you in on details later. Bye."

"Kurosaki-!" Ichigo leaned over and snapped the phone shut before turning his 20-minute drive to work into a 5-minute drive home.

* * *

Ichigo hated this office and this chair now.

Officially.

Ichigo stared at his father fearfully, scared to know what happened. He saw Yuzu and Karin, and they were completely unharmed, no stab marks whatsoever. He looked straight ahead at his father who looked pale as hell and watched warily. Once again, he was here to learn another horrifying thing about Rukia. God, what was happening to this woman?

"Ichigo… I'm sure you're aware of your history of past medications and surgeries...?" Isshin murmured fearfully. Ichigo nodded slowly, wondering what history had to do with this.

"And you're aware in the 1930s while World War 2 was happening that women would have… illegal abortions?" Ichigo nodded again. Isshin swallowed heavily and continued, his breathing shallow. "Do you know what some of the methods were?" he asked quietly. Ichigo shook his head. He never really did want to delve too far into that topic when he was in Uni.

Ichigo was startled when he saw the tear escape from Isshin's eye.

"Dad?! Dad, what's wrong, dad, what happened?! Dad?!" Ichigo shouted, shaking his father's shoulders. Isshin closed his eyes and put Ichigo's hands down, settling his son down.

"Everytime Rukia somehow became pregnant, one of those dangerous methods were used on her." Ichigo swallowed. Back then in the 1930s when women were pregnant and couldn't support the child and themselves financially, they used risky methods to get rid of the baby. Without technology back then, Ichigo didn't know how they did it, but he knew it wasn't safe. Isshin shut his eyes tight. Ichigo knew though, he knew that the only way back then was to remove the baby through the vaginal opening.

He knew this would not be good to hear.

"She… she tried to get rid of the baby before her owners did Ichigo. She was terrified of going through that process again. She was sitting on the kitchen floor, about to kill her own baby in her own womb Ichigo. She was terrified what would happen if her owners found her again." Ichigo could picture it now. What happened when the line cut. Rukia, crying, knife in hand, directed at her stomach where the baby was.

The moonlight reflecting the blade that caught Yuzu's attention. The weapon aimed at her growing baby inside her eliciting the shout from Karin. And the desperate plea Isshin shouted at Rukia to stop.

She was going to kill herself and the baby.

"Why…" Ichigo whispered, fists clenched tightly on his lap. "Why would she kill her own baby and herself like that…? What did they do to her?" Ichigo whispered, looking up at his father. Ichigo reminded himself they took the baby through the vaginal opening…

But with what?

Ichigo's head snapped back to his father when he spoke.

"Ichigo… They used metal clothes hangers."

* * *

It was raining heavily that night she noted. She watched the clouded skies cry their own tears as she sat out in the cold against someone's wall that surrounded their home.

"_STOP!"_

She opened her eyes slowly and let the rain stain her face and soak her clothes, taking in the sorrow that she felt.

"_NO! NO MORE PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!"_

She shut her eyes tightly once more and continued to let the rain wash away the disgust she felt right now on her. She closed her eyes and let her soulless body take it all in. There was no more hope now. It was going to be any time soon when the Kurosaki family would. Lightning struck a far distance away, lighting up the dull street Rukia was sitting in for a moment, refreshing the memory that stood out most.

"_**AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"**_

Pregnancy.

When with child, it was considered like death to a prostitute. You might as well die right then and there once you've found out you're pregnant. When you're pregnant-

It's all over.

You carry a new life inside you, but you don't have enough money to support it, let alone yourself. You need to get rid of the baby. You don't have enough money. You could get a proper job. You're not properly educated. You could somehow kill the baby and get rid of it. You would most like die. You could possibly continue on what you do for your job. You would kill yourself _and_ the baby. Without your job, you have no money. Without money, you have no living necessities and no food. Without any food or water-

You die.

Abortion was the only choice left.

**

She could only watch in horror.

How could this happen?

She was so careful! Protection, condoms, birth control pills, morning after pills, avoiding her ovulation cycle-

How?!

How was she pregnant?! She sat nervously on the white, marble counters of Aizen Sousuke's bathroom, awaiting her destiny. Outside, the two men were discussing what to do. Their best prostitute was with child, and wouldn't be able to keep the job like this. So they grinned, nodded, and entered the room. Well…

One of them did.

Aizen grinned widely at her and held the 16-year-old Rukia's hands.

"What we're about to do won't hurt a bit if you co-operate with us," he said gently, but with that hint of danger in his words on the edge. Rukia stared in fear at the man, and looked straight into the man's eyes. His cold, brown-red eyes.

"W-what…what's going to happen to my baby..?" the young girl asked. Aizen chuckled and began to prepare her for the upcoming event. She began to scramble frantically away from his hands. "W-what are you going to do?! W-what's happening?!" she said fearfully, looking back towards the door where Ichimaru Gin was standing. In his hand was a long piece of disfigured, thin wire that ended in a hook.

It was the remains of a clothes hanger.

"We're just bringin' back the historical importance of abortions back when they were illegal in the 20th century," he chuckled, his grin sinister, his eyes open.

_Oh my god no_, Rukia thought in horror.

_They wouldn't!_

But they did.

Her screams and cries were unheard as her baby was brutally man-slaughtered and brought out in more than one piece. She cried in pain, screamed in fear and agony, and died on the inside with each second that passed. She watched the pink small mass of what used to be her baby be flushed down the toilet brutally.

She was hung over the toilet bowl, mourning for the child that never had a chance to live, the two men responsible laughing evilly and walking outside, leaving her to grieve for the child.

"My baby…" she whispered hoarsely.

**

She opened her eyes again when she felt the rain stopped pelting against her skin like icy bullets. She looked up at a woman that held an umbrella over both their heads. IT was the same woman so long ago that directed the Kurosaki clinic to Rukia. She now had a warm smile on.

"Hey there. We don't want you to become sick! Come on, I'll take you to my place." Rukia eyed the woman warily. She merely dropped her head and closed her eyes, thinking the woman would walk away sooner or later, and the rain would continue to burn and irritate her skin. But the rain didn't touch her. The umbrella's shadow was still there. Rukia raised her head lazily, one eye inspecting the smiling woman still, her soaked, black locks covering the other eye.

"Who are you?" Rukia said quietly in the down torrent of the rain.

"I'm Miyu. Nice to meet you."

* * *

"Thank you," Rukia muttered quietly, accepting the warm mug of hot cocoa. She sat in front of a heater with a blanket around her shoulders, now dressed in a 3 sizes too large pair of pajamas. The woman, Miyu she said, was indeed very kind hearted. She had brown/blonde wavy hair that was done up in a barrette, and she had warm, loving eyes. She had the typical loving mother look, but was single and lived alone.

"What were you doing out there anyway? Ran away from home?" she asked gently, sitting next to the young woman. Miyu looked to be around 40 or older.

"I left a note," Rukia replied dully. Miyu surprised Rukia by wrapping an arm around Rukia's shoulder. The older woman brought her closer to her warm body heat and relaxed her head on the top of Rukia's as if they had known each other forever. Rukia continued to stare blankly at the heater that gave warmth.

"What made you run away?" the woman asked quietly, soothing Rukia. Rukia was still stiff at the stranger's actions, but started to loosen up. She honestly felt so… safe around this woman. This stranger she had met just 10 minutes ago.

"I'm pregnant and I want an abortion." She could feel the older woman wrap her arm tighter. To Rukia's surprise, the older woman chuckled.

"I was like that too. I was pregnant at 15. I didn't know what to do."

_You didn't live as a prostitute did you? Life and death was not a choice for you when you became pregnant,_ Rukia thought bitterly.

"So, without anyone knowing, not even the father, who was my lover, I decided to get an abortion. I had the money. I was in the room. It was time for my appointment." Rukia listened dully to the woman's story of her pregnancy.

"I was about to do it… But I didn't." Rukia looked at the woman in confusion. Miyu looked down at Rukia's face and smiled, petting Rukia's hair. "The doctor asked me one last time, after doing an ultrasound and showing me the baby… 'do you still want to go through with this?' And I listened very closely. And when I listened… I could hear it. My baby. My baby had a heartbeat."

Something inside Rukia's heart clenched.

"So I decided, I couldn't do it. I told him thank you, but no. I want this baby. 8 months later, I gave birth to a baby boy." Tears glistened in her eyes, Rukia watched in awe. "When I was in labour, I regret keeping the baby. All that pain, pushing, breathing, everything! It was horrible. I wanted it to stop. I wanted it to all go away. I was going insane! But then…" she smiled even wider and closed her eyes, letting a tear fall in not sadness, Rukia realized, but in joy.

"Holding my baby boy… for the first time… it was beautiful. Suddenly, I felt like it was all worth it. Because I knew I had support. My family, my lover, who became my husband… he continued school for the sake of me and our son, and got a successful job that supported us well…"

_Holding a baby… a small human being that was created by you and your loved one… what would that feel like?_ Rukia thought in her head. Suddenly, she lightened up.

"But!" Rukia began. Miyu looked back down at Rukia after her little trip down memory lane and smiled, indicating she was listening. "Where is your family now?" she asked hesitantly. Miyu smiled sadly.

"They all passed away."

Silence passed through the two.

Rukia wanted to apologize, but she couldn't, so she set her mug of hot cocoa down and held Miyu's free hand, which Miyu squeezed back.

"I… what… what if… you know… being pregnant affected your job?" Rukia said quietly. Miyu laughed at this as if it were a silly question.

"Why, you have the father of the child to support you! You're not alone in this world, as long as you know someone, at least one person in this world of 6 billion, loves you."

_If only I could believe that_, Rukia thought sadly. Then, she thought back to who the father might've been.

"_Rukia."_

_ICHIGO!_ Rukia exclaimed in her mind. She shot up and sat straight. _Would… would he take care of me… us?_ Rukia thought to herself, petting the small stomach she had now. The baby. She smiled and crouched over, holding the stomach that held her future child gently. She smiled to herself and let the tears flow.

"My baby…" she whispered hoarsely. She let the tears of joy flow now that she understood.

She had witnessed too many deaths back then in her 'town'. She didn't want another one.

Miyu watched the girl with a loving smile as she was happy she made the girl realize how important life was.

"My baby…"

* * *

_I promise, I'll be back._

"Fuck!" Ichigo swore as he found the note on the kitchen counter early in the morning. She left her handgun there on top of the note so that he would be assured she wasn't running around with a gun everywhere again. He grabbed his car keys and was about to storm outside until when he was putting his shoes on-

the door opened.

He widened his eyes when he saw a smile that surpassed the beauty of Aphrodite herself. Rukia stood there with the warmest smile he had ever seen on a woman, apart from his mother.

"I'm home."

* * *

**Author's Note -**

I am so sorry for the rushed part of the last chapter, but I just couldn't find the strength to touch it up after i typed that one abortion bit. I was shaking and when i told my friend what i typed, she felt sick. I'm sorry, but by the way i type Rukia, she doesn't open up so easily like that but I couldn't find myself adding more detail and doing this fully. After I typed her meeting with Miyu, i guess i rushed so that I wouldn't have to look at that part of the story again. Again, I'm sorry for the rushed quality, and I hope you guys understand. ^^

Hope you enjoyed the rest of it, none-the-less

**Ruki-Chan**


	6. Breathing is a sign of Living

"Are you sure Rukia? You won't run away?" he asked worriedly to the woman beside him. She smiled up at him, something he had seen her do a lot lately. And what worried him, was the amount of parenting, pregnant, baby books she had been reading. They were scattered everywhere in his room now. Hell, it even took over his Shakespeare collection!

_Shakespeare!_

Ichigo knocked on the door to Unohana's office and waited for the soft reply of 'come in'. Rukia held Ichigo's hand tighter as she realized what she was doing. Ichigo gripped her hand back and smiled at doctor Retsu.

"Ah, Rukia, am I correct?" the woman asked kindly. Rukia nodded, not trusting her words at the moment. She motioned for the two to come in. "Come, come! Now, I understand you are pregnant… miss…?"

"Rukia will do," Rukia said quietly, not wanting to give away a last name.

"Well then Rukia-san, come over to this white table here and I'll prepare everything." Rukia stood still like she was planted to the ground when Ichigo moved forward. He looked back at her pale face and tugged her forward. He mouthed the words, 'I'm with you', and she nodded. She shook and began to lie down on the table. Unohana grabbed a pair of gloves, expertly snapped them on and grabbed an ointment cream of some sort. When Rukia began to sit up and try to crawl away, Ichigo held her shoulders and whispered into her ear.

Rukia nodded again and looked at the woman doctor.

"Now Rukia, I will need you to raise your dress up to your stomach so I can apply this gel," Retsu explained slowly. Rukia looked at her with cautious, wide eyes.

"Why? What are you going to do?" she asked in a whisper.

"Don't worry, I just need this gel to be able to see your baby. Wouldn't you want to see it too?" Retsu coaxed.

"I do…" Rukia whispered. She winced as Retsu raised her dress and applied the cold medicine to her stomach. All the time, Ichigo held Rukia's hand. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to listen to the sweet words that Ichigo was whispering to her, but her mind drew blank, and she thought.

_What would my baby look like?_

The only times when she could ever take a glimpse of a baby, was the aftermath of an 'Ichimaru abortion,' so she was afraid. Small trails of tears leaked through her tightly closed eyes while Ichigo held on tighter.

But that's when it happened.

That's when she heard it.

The soft, thumping beat that echoed throughout the small room.

She opened her eyes to the white ceiling above her, and tilted her head to look at the small screen that got Ichigo entranced, and Unohana-sensei smiling.

"_The doctor asked me one last time, after doing an ultrasound and showing me the baby… 'do you still want to go through with this?' And I listened very closely. And when I listened… I could hear it. My baby. My baby had a heartbeat."_

Tears sprung into Rukia's eyes as she remembered the kind lady's words and watched the small being in the screen. It barely had any shape, the small thing, but she could see it. It was tiny, but it was still there. And it had it. A heartbeat. She began to sit up despite the older woman and Ichigo's protests, reaching out to the screen, fingers spread, hands shaking, tears falling-

She reached for her baby.

Tears of joy fell down from her eyes as she reached out for the small thing.

So _this_ was what a baby looked like in one piece.

"My baby," she whispered hoarsely, crying as she clutched the screen. Unohana smiled at the young woman that seemed so entranced by seeing her baby for the first time. Her tears continued to fall as she began to dream of something she had never dared to dream of before-

A real family.

The moment the words left Rukia's lips, Ichigo didn't hear anymore. He heard nothing else; he saw nothing else, but Rukia and her words. Her words that left her tear stricken face and smile.

_Our baby._

* * *

"Oi, Ichi-nii! What's gotten you into such a daze?" Karin muttered, waving her hand in front of her brother's face. He snapped out of his trance half-heartedly and took acknowledgment of his sister.

"Huh? Oh, it's only you Karin. What did you say?" he said in a daze, still sitting on the couch. Not one to be taken lightly, Karin kicked her brother in the stomach and walked off to the kitchen. Ichigo kneeled over and began to think again.

Was it really his child?

Sure, when his father told him Rukia was pregnant, he pondered who the father of the baby was, but-

Was it really him?

The thought of having a child with Rukia brought the ghost of a smile to his lips. If he thought about it, he was giving Rukia an opportunity a chance to live a normal life. He could bring home the money, while she stayed home and looked after the baby.

Yea… that had a nice ring to it.

Wait, did this whole thing include marriage!?

Ichigo stood up abruptly, staring at the TV that was right in front of him, startling Karin and Yuzu that were watching him from the kitchen.

Marriage? The stuff with the bells, church, dresses, maids, tuxes and stuff?

A Wedding?

_Hmm… Mrs. Kurosaki Rukia…I like the sound of that._ Ichigo sat down peacefully with a goofy grin on his face, something that may have possibly scarred Karin for life and brought tears of joy to Yuzu. He looked at the silver Rolex watch on his wrist and practically glided over to the front door.

"I better pick up Rukia now…" he murmured to himself. As soon as the front door shut, Karin and Yuzu dashed to tell their father of the horrifying/wonderful news.

* * *

Though it had surprised him greatly, Rukia claimed after her ultrasound appointment with Unohana-sensei, that she was meeting a friend at a café. She told Ichigo to pick her up at 2:30 sharp, and so here she was, waiting for her orange head to come in the small cozy café she sat in with Miyu-san. The kind, older woman laughed along with Rukia as Rukia strangely felt normal in this café with this woman.

"So I take it the appointment was wonderful?" Miyu asked Rukia. Rukia nodded enthusiastically, while munching on the 5th slice of cake Miyu had bought for her. She never had the chance to explore such delicacies and their tastes back in her old days. That's what she referred to them as now.

The old days.

The past.

What she looked at now, was a future.

A happy ending, Rukia thought happily.

Only months later, would she find out how wrong she was, but for now, let her live in her pretense fairytale only a while longer.

"You were right, Miyu-san. When I heard the baby's heartbeat, no longer did I want to get rid of it. I-"

"RUKIA!" Rukia stopped in the middle of her sentence to look at the glass doors in fear.

What was _he_ doing here?!

* * *

Ichigo drove through the streets in a leisurely pace, knowing that he was slightly early in coming, and he knew he would get a thrashing if he came earlier or later than the appointed 'pick-up-Rukia' time. But just this once, he realized he had to thank God for making him leave the house when he did. Screeching to a halt, he saw nothing of the friend Rukia spoke about, but a tall man in a brown trench coat lifting her form her seat by the arm. He parked the car hazardously and stormed inside.

* * *

Her older woman friend was surprisingly nowhere in sight as she scanned the small homey café, all eyes on her and the man that dragged her up. She looked at the clock and noticed it was 2:23. 7 minutes left to distract the man so that Ichigo could come and save her, like every prince should.

Right?

She lived a fairytale now, she shouldn't be seeing this man after so long, right?

After all, he was the past, the old days, why was he here?!

Where was her prince on a white horse!?

* * *

Behind a car, across the street, her female companion only minutes prior cried tears as she watched the poor girl in the café.

"I'm sorry Rukia. I truly am," she sobbed in a whisper as she returned to her home.

* * *

"Rukia! Where the fuck have you been?! It's been practically a month since I last saw you, and you didn't even bother to contact!?" the tall man shouted at her, grabbing her arm.

"Let go! I said let go A-"

CRACK.

"FUCKING SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Now all eyes in the café were on the three that sat near the window. Passersby outside the window decided to take a peek too. Ichigo rolled his shoulders and stood by Rukia's side protectively, after the deft right hook he sent at Renji's jaw.

"So, this is your so called, _Miyu_ friend?" Ichigo spat dangerously, glaring at Rukia in the corner of his eye. Rukia stuttered in response.

"N-no, she left just before he came!"

"Rukia, who the _fuck _is this guy?!" the man from her past spat.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, now tell me who the fuck _you_ are!"

"Abarai Renji, her longtime childhood friend!"

Ichigo raised a brow and stared at him. Childhood friend? Was he a male stripper? Ichigo's eyes squinted in recognition.

"You! You're that guy from the bar! That bartender!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the red head. The one who called himself Renji raised a brow before throwing his head back and laughing.

"You're that newbie!" All traces of laughter left his face when he looked at the whimpering Rukia that was hiding behind the orange head.

"Rukia, you have to go back now, make up an excuse to say but you-"

"NO!" she screamed, clutching Ichigo's jacket. Ichigo glared at the red head but he looked as if he had no clue of what was happening.

"Rukia, this isn't the time to play games, you _have_ to go back, Ichima-"

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" she screeched, blocking her ears and clinging tight to Ichigo's body. Ichigo held one arm out to shield the fragile Rukia from view, as he glared venomously at Renji.

"Look, Renji pal-"

"Don't address me so well and don't call me pal!"

"Yea, whatever mate, but I think it's time for you to leave," Ichigo said dangerously.

"You wouldn't understand!" Renji growled. He diverted his attention to the part of Rukia he _could_ see and continued to plead with her.

"Rukia come on, let's have a small chat so I can update you on what's happening, you need to-"

"Go away Renji!" Rukia said harshly in between sobs. Ichigo held onto her arm and glared at the said man. Renji sighed in frustration and looked straight into Ichigo's eyes.

"Look here, get that woman to sit down and talk peacefully with me, otherwise all hell will be set loose."

"And why should I listen to you?" Ichigo asked warily with a glare. Renji looked straight into Ichigo's eyes with a desperation and sadness Ichigo had seen before. Ichigo reluctantly turned towards Rukia and whispered quiet words in her ear that got Renji curious.

"Rukia, I'll sit right beside you. Apparently, this Renji guy really needs to talk to you," he said quietly. Rukia shook her head, her glassed over eyes looking up at his desperately.

"No, don't let him, he'll take me back there-"

"I won't let him." Rukia's eyes widened at the fierce determination she could see in Ichigo's eyes, and finally gave in, sitting back down in her small booth. Renji sighed in relief and sat across her slowly, so not to startle her. Ichigo sat beside Rukia and wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close to him.

"Speak," Ichigo commanded before the redhead opened his mouth to explain the situation back down town.

* * *

"Any sign of her?" he spat venomously into the phone.

"No, Aizen-sama. Please excuse us for our failure," a dull voice on the other line said.

"Where the fuck has she gone?!" Aizen growled, hanging up on his private detective.

"Relax, I'm sure she'll come back sooner or later. After all, we have our best little minions looking for her now!" Ichimaru gin said slyly, the grin on his face still intact. Aizen ran a hand through his unruly, brown locks and sighed in frustration, sitting back down on his black, leather chair.

"You don't know how many clients have been asking for her, it's frustrating!"

"Uh, actually, I do know, because half of them come to me," Ichimaru said in a monotone.

"Shut up!" he snarled. Ichimaru shrugged his shoulders, already used to his partner's mood swings ever since Rukia had disappeared. He looked down at the street window below and glared out with his small, red eyes.

_Rest assured you're never free from us Rukia. You'll always belong to us._

_Don't forget you can't ever escape._

* * *

The café was still cautious of the three customers that sat by the window, consisting of two older punks and one fragile woman that seemed too bony and thin to be healthy. Half the people in the small shop flinched in surprise once the man with the orange hair slammed a fist onto the table.

"She's being chased?!"

"Keep it down will ya?!" Renji said in a hushed voice. Rukia looked down at the small mug that held her coffee. It suddenly didn't seem so appetizing anymore.

"Look, just leave Rukia here, and then all will be-"

"No! If I leave Rukia here, he's bound to find her and punish her! She has to go back so that she could say something like a customer held her hostage for service every night, or something like that!" Renji said in exasperation. Ichigo stood up and slammed his hands onto the table.

"How could you say something like that?!" he roared. Renji too, stood up, while Rukia only sat with her head hung down, fists clenched on her lap.

"It's the only way she'll get away from punishment!"

"No..."

Ichigo and Renji turned towards the soft voice that whispered and watched in shock. Tears fell into her laps as large drops fell and stained her dress. She wrung her dress in her hands and tried to stop the tears with eyes wide.

"If he catches me, or if I return to him, then he'll torture me. I know he will. Regardless of what happens, he'll take away my baby..." she whispered. Ichigo immediately sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her. Renji watched in horror, his mouth agape.

"No, no, fuck _no!_ Rukia, _please_ tell me you're not pregnant!" Renji swore loudly and dumped himself back onto the seat when Rukia choked back a sob and closed her eyes tightly. "Rukia, do you realize what you've done?!"

"Hey! Watch it! Leave her the _fuck_ alone, I'll take care of her!" Ichigo snapped at Renji.

"And what? I assumed you're the _father_!?" Renji sneered.

"So what if I am!?" Renji's jaw dropped for the second time.

"Oh you're fucking kidding me! You're absolutely joking!"

"This is 100 percent fucking _real_ mate, and I'm going to look after her and our baby together!" Ichigo shouted. The whole café was silent. They watched it intensely like a drama. Only live.

Renji groaned and held his head in his hand. He had a huge migraine coming at him at 100 miles per second. He looked over to Rukia and allowed his beady, black eyes to soften. The girl he grew up with, the prostitute she became, was crying into the arms of another man that wasn't him. Growing up together, they both became harsh when it came to reality, so comfort was rare. Renji glanced at the man that held her, and felt…

Secure.

Like he could actually leave Rukia in his arms.

As if he could actually trust this man.

Ichigo's eyes were downcast, staring adoringly at the crying woman in his eyes, stroking her hair softly, and whispering things of comfort. Something that Renji stopped doing long ago. Renji sighed and looked back at Rukia, and then her stomach. She was still bone thin, possibly thinner than he last saw her, but there was a life growing inside of her. Renji stood up and gruffly told the couple to follow him. Ichigo glared at him while Rukia watched him warily.

"I promise. I won't hand you in Rukia."

And at that, Rukia stood up immediately and dragged Ichigo behind her to follow Renji.

* * *

It was later that Ichigo learned whenever Renji kept a promise, he would never break it. She learned at the young age of 7, when they were still childish, she had dared him to jump off a bridge into a river. He refused, and she cried, so he promised he would do it in the daytime.

Next morning, he jumped off.

It took her until nightfall to find his unconscious body barely lying on top of a small boulder. The other time he kept a promise was when she became pregnant, and even if Ichimaru and Aizen asked him, he would keep his mouth shut.

He barely came back alive to their apartment.

Ichigo held Rukia's hand tightly and watched the man in front of him warily. Rukia walked calmly as if she had never shed a tear just 5 minutes ago. When Ichigo looked ahead of the man that led them, and his eyes widened. He was taking them to a small fancy restaurant. Ichigo remained silent the whole time. Rukia's hand tightened as she stared at the place in wonder. She had never been to something so fancy just to eat food.

They were seated at the back of the cozy food home, with water and menus served straight away. Rukia looked at many of the words blankly. The katakana and hiragana mixed with kanji clouded her eyes and jumbled around in her mind, making her dizzy. She had never learned how to read yet. She always had Renji to read for her.

"Chi…Ch…Chi…k-ken… Chikken... to…ton…"

"Is that what you'd like, Rukia?" Ichigo asked warmly. She looked up at him behind her menu with wide puppy-like eyes, and pouted with a blush.

"Wait a second," she shushed him, before returning to reading. "Chi…kken… to…tono? No… Ton…"

"Chikken tonkatsu Rukia," Renji said calmly, looking at his own menu. She threw her menu at Renji, which he so calmly dodged and huffed. She glared at Ichigo when he stared at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"What?!" she snapped.

"Rukia… you can't… read can you?" he said cautiously, in case she would throw her water at him.

"So?!" she snapped again, blushing. Ichigo laughed a rich melody to her ears as she blushed, and held her position stiffly, arms crossed, shoulders hunched and eyes shifting off to the side. He laughed and nuzzled his head into her hair as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She still looked angry, but nonetheless had the small twitch of a smile threatening to break her frown. Renji observed the couple with sharp eyes as he peered past his menu. He watched as Ichigo pinched her cheeks and rubbed them, and he watched as Rukia feigned anger, but laughed nonetheless. He looked at her stomach where her future child was.

_There's a life in there…_he thought to himself. He looked back at the two that were in some sort of an amusing staring contest and looked back at the stomach. _And as long as she has that life in there… I'll hide her from Ichimaru and Aizen… For as long as I can._ He looked back at his menu with determination as he thought of ways to avoid the two boss men. He came back to reality when he heard Ichigo trying to get his attention.

"Oi, hey! You 'right there?" Ichigo joked, snapping his fingers. "Have you decided what to eat?" Renji looked back down and searched.

"I'll have… The Tempura udon bowl. What about you two?" he asked.

"I'm having tonkatsu while Rukia wants me to eat half of her udon and she wants half of my tonkatsu," Ichigo said lightly, as if he wouldn't let her eat his.

"Hey! You made a deal on it!"

Renji found himself chuckling along with the pair reluctantly, as he found it hard to let go of being Rukia's protector. He practically raised her and himself, and shielded them both from being killed, and yet-

Here he was, giving her away to another man. He stared down Ichigo and waited until the laughing man saw the attention he was receiving. As soon as Ichigo met eyes with Renji, his laughter died down, and so did Rukia's. Renji stared deep into Ichigo's eyes, which kind of irked him, but they both kept their stares constant. Rukia slowly tangled her fingers in Ichigo's long ones, and she held onto him tightly, staring at Renji cautiously as if he would separate the two.

"How do you plan on doing it?" Renji asked quietly. Ichigo raised a brow at this, and Renji scoffed. "Looking after her and your baby I mean. How will you take care of them?" Ichigo cleared his throat.

"I will raise the child together with Rukia. I will support them both financially. I will protect them, from anything that comes our way."

Only the chatter of the other rich people in the restaurant were heard as Renji and Ichigo glared each other down, and Rukia could feel herself doubting Ichigo's words. Renji chuckled and gulped his glass of water down. He looked back at Ichigo with a smirk.

"I think I can actually trust this one Rukia." Rukia tightened her grip on Ichigo's arm and surprised the two men as she had a half lidded, content face that had the ghost of a smile lingering on her lips.

"I think I can too…"

* * *

Renji watched with blunt amusement as Ichigo and Rukia fought for their food with chopsticks as if they were pen-twirling professionals. They snapped at each other's fingers and chopsticks alike, and fought for noodles, tonkatsu, rice, and side salads too. With a snap and a click here, occasional grunts of pain were heard from time to time as a victor ended up with a noodle strand or a small piece of fried pork.

Renji quietly ate his own meal and smiled at the two from time to time as Ichigo would occasionally wipe a crumb from her mouth with a napkin, or lose a piece of tonkatsu from her powerful shin kick. When the time to pay the bill came, Renji stood up, and as soon as he did, so did Ichigo, half raised from his seat, hand on the small black clipboard that held the expensive prices. Ichigo looked up when Renji held a strong grip on his wrist that told him to let go. Ichigo understood his need and dropped his hand from the bill, letting Renji walk away.

"Ok, Ichigo, let's go. Where's-" her eyes widened in fear as she watched Renji stride towards the counter to pay. She quickly grabbed the sleeve of Ichigo and began to beg. "Ichigo! Ichigo! Don't let him! Stop him Ichigo!!" she pleaded. Ichigo stared down at her pleading eyes. "No, don't let him pay! He doesn't even have enough money to support himself, don't let him pay!" Ichigo held Rukia's trembling shoulders and breathed in.

"Rukia-"

"Don't let him, please, he has no money to survive on, don't let him Ichigo!" she cried. "Don't let him pay!" As she tugged and pleaded with him, pulling at his shirt, Ichigo looked at Renji who was paying right now with a dejected face, but stood still.

"There's something you have to know… About a man Rukia," he said quietly. She raised her doe like eyes to look at his straight face. "Men are selfish bastards that have a point in their life where they completely devote themselves to one thing. And in this case, Renji has been unselfish all his life, and it's Pride that's keeping him going all the way." Ichigo let out a sharp breath as he felt the wind get knocked out of his windpipe by a rather small hand.

"You're useless!" she muttered angrily before storming off in Renji's direction. By the time she had roughly turned him around to face her, mouth open wide about to yell-

He slapped her.

In no time, Ichigo held Renji up by his collar.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?!" he growled loudly. The people in the small restaurant stared at him with caution. Again, the attention was on them.

"You wouldn't understand, stand down Ichigo," Renji said angrily. Ichigo raised his collar higher.

"You shit-headed ass hole-"

"Ichigo!" Rukia's voice shouted. Ichigo looked down at the petite woman, shocked at her volume. His chest tightened when he saw that she was crying, cheeks tinted red. "He's right."

"Rukia, no matter what the situation, he didn't deserve to hit-"

"No! I did. I deserved it! Ichigo, let him go," she said dully. She looked back at Renji hopelessly as she received his message. Renji reluctantly gave the counter woman the money, and received barely any change in return, returning it to his very empty wallet. He looked at Rukia and smiled weakly. Ichigo watched the sad exchange between the two with a confused expression, but said nothing, nonetheless.

They walked outside together and bid each other farewell.

"See you… Renji," Rukia murmured, clinging onto Ichigo's arm, avoiding eye contact with the red head.

"Yea… See you… Rukia," he said wistfully. He looked at Ichigo and offered his hand in a handshake. Ichigo shook it firmly, nodding his head.

"See ya later man," Ichigo said in a forced act of kindness. Renji flinched at the words but nodded.

"Yea… Hey, take care of her real well for me, kay?" Renji asked desperately. Ichigo nodded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Renji nodded and cast one last forlorn look at Rukia, who stared at him with equal sadness. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, Rukia and Renji knew, this would indeed most likely be the last exchange of words they would share. Rukia watched Renji stalk off into the night, and engraved his body features into her head before she would never see him again.

The two of them knew, that he would not survive one meeting with Aizen and Ichimaru. As a last farewell, Renji had paid the debt, knowing he would never see her again. Ichigo tugged on Rukia's hand to keep her moving, but didn't ask about the tears that leaked from her lashes.

* * *

"_This person is unavailable right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP."_

"A…ano… Miyu-san? Yea…I just… I'm sorry about today. Where did you go? I just called to see if you made it home safely. I'll check in on you tomorrow, to see if you're well. You left so suddenly when my… other friend… came in. I hope to see you again soon, Miyu-san. Oh, and it's Rukia by the way. Well… Anyways… see ya."

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

She sat on the couch quietly, watching the bubbles in her drink dance to the surface, her eyes long dry from crying. She looked over to the time and noticed it was around 11 at night. Rather late for Rukia who she abandoned at 2:30-ish. Miyu watched the bubbles once again, before closing her eyes to the stinging sensation that rose again. She looked at the phone where the message had come from and let a few tears escape again.

_I'm sorry Rukia… I can't reveal myself now…_

_Forgive me._

* * *

"Rukia?" his voice called from across the room. Rukia turned her head to see Ichigo wearing nothing but track pants and a towel around his neck that he currently used to dry his hair. Rukia looked back down at the phone she still held in her hand before setting it back in its cradle. She turned to him with a weak smile.

"Hey, Ichigo," she said softly. He padded across the room to her.

"Hey yourself. What're you doing out here with the phone? Calling your family?" he asked quietly. Rukia felt a pang of pain shoot through her as she once again fingered the locket at her neck.

"Uh… yeah… no I actually phoned my friend Miyu, to see if she was there. There was no reply, so I thought I'd check on her tomorrow. Is that ok?" Rukia asked Ichigo in the dark. He nodded slowly, contemplating.

"Yeah… yeah that's fine, it's just that I have work tomorrow, so I don't really think I can look after you-"

"No! It's ok, I'll be with Miyu-san," Rukia said hurriedly. Ichigo raised a brow.

"Well then, where was she today?" Ichigo challenged. Rukia dropped her head a few centimetres, looking at his bare feet and her Chappy the Rabbit slippers.

"That's why I'm worried…" Rukia whispered. Ichigo stared at her for a while before letting out a sigh.

"Come on, we got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, we better get to bed," he said with a tired edge, leading her up the stairs. Rukia nodded and blankly followed. Strangely enough, the food she ate today wasn't trying to come back out at all. She arrived at the door to their bedroom without knowing it, and pushed it open gently to slip inside her blanket of security.

She listened to the silence of the night and the sound of Ichigo rustling his blankets to slip into his own sleeping haven. Without ever realizing it, she felt lonely in the comfortable blankets she was wrapped in. She quietly turned over to look at Ichigo's peaceful figure that was illuminated by the moonlight, and shook. She was afraid. Back in her old town, she slept alone, but she was independent. Now with Ichigo by her side nearly everywhere, she was scared without someone by her side at all times.

She let her cold feet touch the floor beneath her and tiptoed to the bed across the room. She looked down at Ichigo's peaceful figure and watched him quietly. Sinking to her knees, she began to stroke his hair as his face was turned towards her, his quiet snores leaving his mouth slightly ajar. Smiling, she continued to stroke his hair. He began to frown and close his mouth as his eyes fluttered open. He found a goddess looking at him with heavenly purple eyes that shone brightly, and pale white skin that glowed in the moonlight.

Holy crap it was Rukia.

"AHHHH!" He rolled until he was far away from her and bumped his head on the wall hard. He cussed and held his head, looking at Rukia cautiously. What was she doing? She shrugged before climbing into bed with him.

Wait.

What?

CLIMBING INTO BED?!

"Rukia!" he said in a panic, now sitting up. "I-I know what your former occupation is, and sure, we did _that_ once, but it was just once! I'm not ready for another go, come on, you're pregnant! Rukia-" he was silenced when she lightly smacked his head and laid her head down on the pillow.

"Idiot, I'm too tired for that. Just let me sleep with you." After those words, Ichigo never heard another word come from her mouth, apart from her light breathing. He stared down at her figure and sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. He stiffly returned to the comforting surface of his fluffy bed and faced the wall, away from Rukia.

Who gives, it was just one night right?

* * *

She found with each passing second it was getting harder to breathe. Her legs felt like deadweight that was trapped under a whole building as her chest was tight with constriction. Her arms still had half the ability to move. Her eyes felt like they were being flooded with light, though closed. She opened her eyes in a panic, trying to see what was happening to her.

She looked at Ichigo and cussed loudly. He was snoring quite loudly with his arm draped across her chest and his leg on top of both of hers. She pushed him off with brute force and tipped him over until his body crashed into the wall. He screamed and sat up with his defense up, expecting that it was his father that tipped him. He looked at the angry face of Rukia and yawned before flopping down on his side to sleep again, his back facing her.

Not appreciating the lack of attention he gave her, she made his morning hell.

* * *

"Woahh… Kurosaki you look like shit, what happened?" Uryuu snickered before turning the snicker into a laugh.

"Rukia happened to me."

Uryuu immediately stopped laughing and sympathized for the poor man. He was once under the angry wrath of Rukia, and knew how bad it was. Remembering why he had arrived at Ichigo's office, he had the mental image of a light bulb.

"Say, Kurosaki, I called your home phone but you don't ever answer it. Why don't you pick up the home phone anymore?" Ichigo looked up at Uryuu over his coffee mug while he sat in his black leather chair, Uryuu next to him while leaning on the table.

"Ah, that's cause I don't live there anymore…" Ichigo trailed off, sipping at his coffee.

"What? When did you move?"

"Not that I moved, it's just that I mostly sleep over at the clinic with dad and the twins so that easy access is easy to the clinic."

"Why would you do that? You're a top doctor at my hospital and-"

"You idiot, we're taking care of Rukia."

"… Is that where she lives?" Ichigo sent a scathing glare at Uryuu.

"Idiot, where else?"

"Ichigo, we don't have a single bloody _file_ on this woman, and we don't know any information about her except for her given name, and her birthday!"

_Wow… even I didn't know her birthday…_ Ichigo contemplated, setting his mug down and staring at the skeleton model next to the examination table across his office.

"Are you listening to me Kurosaki!?"

"Yea yea, what do you want!?"

"I-" Uryuu was extremely pissed when Ichigo's phone rang. Ichigo chuckled and brought out his phone, frowning when he saw the called ID number was unknown.

"Hello, Ichigo speaking."

"…"

"…Hello?" Ichigo's frown pulled down further when no one replied. His eyes snapped open wider when he heard a sob. "Hello?! Who's there?! Yuzu?!"

"I-Ichigo…" Shit, it was Rukia.

"Rukia?! What's wrong, are you ok!? Are you menstruating?!" he said in a panic, wondering if the baby was dead. Ichigo's heart clenched at the thought and his stomach twisted. "Rukia?! Rukia, baby, tell me what's wrong!?" Ichigo said hurriedly, beginning to pick up his keys. Uryuu stared at Ichigo's face and realized, never, had he seen Kurosaki Ichigo look as frightened as he did now.

"I-Ichigo…I-Ichi-"

"Rukia, what is it?!"

"Y-Yu-"

"Me? What's wrong, do you need me there?!" The change of pitch in her sobs that constantly shook indicated that she was shaking her head roughly.

"Y-Yuzu, she, Ichigo!" she cried. "I-I don't know what to do, what do I do, Ichigo, she's, she's-!"

"Rukia, what's wrong with her?!"

"She's not breathing!" she wailed.

* * *

**Author's Note -**

Heheh.. was that a good cliffy? ^^

Sorry, I just tend to get stuck at lots of places in this story, so I tried hard to update, this I really did! Besides the fact I have 8 tests next week :(

I'll try to update this too when I can, which might happen soon cause I'm getting a laptop. Laptops equal portable. Portable equals everywhere anywhere :D

But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! xD

**Ruki-Chan**


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